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B. W. PIERCE. 



































FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE OF 
REDEMPTION IN CHRIST; 


OR, 

THE SPIRITUAL REMEDIAL SYSTEM FORE¬ 
SHADOWED IN THE PHYSICAL. 


REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION. 


I. ? 


By BrWf Fierce, B.S. 

u 



‘God has not left Himself without witness.”—Acts 14:17. 
‘God is not willing that any should perish.”—2 Pet. 3:9. 
‘God subjected the race to suffering in hope.”—Rom. 8:20. 
‘Call His Name Jesus.” —Matt. 1:21; Isa. 9:6-7. 


Published for the Author 
By the Hudson-Kimberly Pub. Co., 
Kansas City, Mo., 

1902, 







THfi LIBRARY OF 

CONGRESS, 

Two Copies Received 

AUG. h 1902 

S '* RIGHT ENTRY 

CL XXa No. 

£ % 1 - °[ 4 ~ 

COPY B. 


Copyright, 1902, 
• BY 


B. W. Pierce. 








PREFACE. 


This volume is largely the work of widely separated mo¬ 
ments. The line of argument is a new one, and for this 
reason references are made almost exclusively to Nature 
and the Bible. 

The problem of evil and suffering and the remedy is 
the theme. Borne modern writers attempt to find in science 
a more sure foundation for morality than is afforded in the 
Bible. The author leaves all such to extract, as best they 
may, a system of morality from their country cousins, “the 
mice and the frogs, the insects and the birds,” and chooses 
for himself the study of man in the light of Nature and 
history, of Revelation and experience. The work takes 
square issue with the so-called modern scientific doctrine 
that the knowledge of evil through experience is necessary 
to the knowledge of good. It repudiates that theory which, 
while ignoring the Bible account of evil, makes suffering a 
necessary step in the process of lifting man to a higher 
plane—a divinely ordained means for calling out the higher 
energies of the soul. Nor is suffering “merely an aid to 
religion.” 

Suffering, in our present but fallen state, serves, no 
doubt, a wise purpose in that it warns against wrong-doing, 
and, in connection with a physical remedial system, it in¬ 
spires in man the hope for a restoration into harmony with 
his Creator (2 Cor. 4:17-18). Admitting the fact of sin, 
suffering is seen to be a present governmental necessity: 
but it was not originally so. In our present school of ex¬ 
perience, suffering is an object-lesson against sin: at the 
same time, indirectly, it is a means in the process of resto - 



4 


FOREGLEAMS in nature 


ration. Man can not sin with impunity, is the lesson. 
Suffering primarily was altogether and is now largely the 
result of man’s own choice to disobey; and it never will be 
removed until that choice is reversed and man comes into 
harmony with God. 

Nature foreshadows the Spiritual Remedial System. 
If this be not true, no argument can be made from the 
view-point of science in favor of the latter. But if true, 
no argument can be framed by science against the doctrine 
of a Spiritual Remedial System. This solves the problem 
of evil. It gives man a view-point from which he can 
clearly see the wisdom and the justice and the mercy and 
the love of God in permitting the sinner to suffer. Suffer¬ 
ing is the result of man’s choice of evil. It makes man feel 
his relation to moral law here and now: and in connection 
with the remedy, it leads him to believe in a higher reme¬ 
dial system. It goes farther and makes it morally certain 
that he will be a subject of moral law beyond the grave. 
The love, the compassion, and the forgiveness of God have 
all been foreshadowed in Nature, and the means of restora¬ 
tion have been clearly set forth in the Gospel. 

This Gospel saves the individual, sanctifies the home, 
purifies society, exalts the nation, and brings the race into 
vital and eternal fellowship. For it looks beyond the grave. 
It takes away the sting of death and robs the grave of its 
terror. It fills the soul with peace, begets a new love, a new 
life, a new hope, and thus assures the believer of an immor¬ 
tal destiny. The book of Nature and the Bible agree. How 
well this doctrine has been established, the reader will judge 
for himself. B. W. Pierce. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

I. 

NATURE AS A WITNESS AND PROPHET. 

I. —The Fact of Creation. 15 

II. —The Fact of Providence. 20 

III.—The Fact of Redemption.23 

ii. 

FULFILLED PROPHECY—PART I. 

I.—Preservation of the Race. 33 

II.—Laws for Prevention of Disease. . 34 

III. —Laws for Healing. 42 

IV. —The Fact of Amputation. . 43 

V.—The Fact of Special Cures.45 

VI.—Nature and Bible in Harmony. 49 

VII.—The Demonstration through Faith . 50 

The Method of Proof.52-57 

The Steps in Proof.57 

The Chosen Witnesses. 57 

The Chosen Nation. 58 

The Monuments. 60 

VIII.—Foregleams of a Better Hope. 68 

III. 

FULFILLED PROPHECY—PA RT II. 

I.—Marks of Identification. 71 

II.—His Name. 73 

III. —His Introduction. 73 

IV. —John the Baptist’s Testimony. 77 























6 


TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


V.—The Father’s Testimony. 82 

The Father Alone Knew Him. 82 

Testimony at the Baptism.82-84 

Why the Jews Crucified Him.84-87 

VI.—The Testimony of His Works...88 

Summary by A. Campbell. 88 

Object of Christ’s Mission.89 

General Claims. 89 

Specific Claims. 91 

Case 1—Paralytic Healed.91-92 

Case 2—Blind Restored.92-95 

Case 3—Healing at the Pool.95-97 

Case 4—Lazarus Raised.97-99 

The World Represented.102 

The World Guilty. 103 

A Seeming Triumph.104 

VII.—Testimony at the Crucifixion.106-109 

On the Cross: In the Temple: At the Grave: 

The Great Issue: Buried Hopes: Interested Parties. 

VIII.—Argument from Prophecy.110-113 

The Statement: The Testimony of the Spirit.110 

The Empty Tomb: The Guard’s Statement.Ill 

That ‘‘Large Money:” Apostle’s Statement. .112-113 

IX.—Argument from the World-wide Commission. . 114 
Analysis of: Most Remarkable Document... 114-116 

If Christ Did Not Rise: If He Did Rise.118-119 

“Tarry at Jerusalem:” New Comforter and Mis¬ 
sion . 120-122 

Necessity for Such Guide: Unpopular Theme 122-123 
Foundation Principles: End of an Old Dream 123-124 

X.—Lesson from the Ascension.125 

New Conception of Kingdom: The Power of 
Hope.125-126 


























TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


7 


IV. 


FULFILLED PROPHECY—PART III. 


I.— The Reign of Christ .127-131 

II.— Peter’s Argument in the Case .132-135 

I—The Accusation: II—Christ’s Vindication 132-133 

III—Christ as Lord: IV—Cry for Mercy.134 

V—Amnesty Proclamation: VI—Willing Sub¬ 
mission .135 

III. — Presence of a Divine Power in His Name .136 

His Enemies Accept Him: A Notable Cripple 

Healed.136-141 

Hypocrisy Punished: “Healed Everyone:” Joy 
HUneas Healed: Tabitha Raised—Lydda and 

Saron and Joppa turn.142-143 

Special Miracles by Paul: Exorcists Rebuked 143-144 
The Lord Jesus vs. The Gods of Heathenism 144-146 

IV. —The World-Wide Kingdom: Christ’s Concep¬ 
tion of .147-150 

V.— When and by Whom Written? .151-164 

VI.— A Chapter on the Resurrection. ..165-174 

Some Fundamental Propositions.165 

Direct Testimony.167 

The Indirect Proof.167 

The Character: The Federal Head: The Or¬ 


ders.169-170 

The How: Argument from Nature: The Body 171-174 

VII.— Jesus the Savior of the Soul .175-177 

Evidence of Foundation Facts (1-5). 175 

Evidence of Christian Experience (6-7).175-177 

VIII.— That So-Called Most Infamous Passage. .178-184 

IX.— The Sole Issue of the Gospel .185-188 

X.— Supernatural Beginnings .189-194 

XI.— Life Beyond the Grave .195-203 

XII.— In Conclusion. ..... . .204-213 























PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION. 

This edition contains three new chapters. The plan 
of work remains unchanged, the new matter being so in¬ 
terwoven with the first as to make a consistent whole. 
The work holds strictly to its original purpose, viz., to 
show that Nature plainly foreshadows a spiritual remedial 
system, and that her foregleams, and the longings of the 
soul, and the types and shadows of the ancient religion 
are all fulfilled in the author of the spiritual system. 

It is the earnest prayer of the author that all readers 
of “Foregleams” may be richly blessed now, and, with 
him, may one day enter into the haven of rest “that fades 
not away.” 


B. W. PIERCE. 


Foregleams in Nature of Redemp¬ 
tion in Christ. 


The idea of a Supreme Being is as old as our race. 
Thousands of volumes have been written to prove the ex¬ 
istence of God, but the authors in each instance start with 
that idea in mind. We may suppose that idea to have come 
to man through direct converse with the Supreme; or, 
through angelic teachers; or, through a divine impress up¬ 
on man— i. e., by intuition; or, in some instances, through 
reason; or, in other instances, through unusual experiences 
(Dan. 2)or, by all these means combined. But however 
that idea came, it must accord with reason to have weight 
with the world to-day. Now since the first two methods 
are not possible to us, we are limited in our discussion to 
the fields of faith, intuition, reason, and experience. Pass¬ 
ing by, for the present, the field of faith, we are ready to 
affirm: 

If the facts of Creation and of Providence and of Re¬ 
demption are not written upon this world of ours so as to 
be clearly perceived by intuition, reason, and experience, 
then we may well doubt the existence of God, and hence 
also the certainty of a divine revelation to man. But if 
Nature unmistakably affirms the existence of a physical 
remedial system for man, and hence also of a Great Physi- 


10 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


cian; and if Nature, in addition, as certainly points to His 
coming to our earth, then the skeptic may well pause to 
consider the claims of that booh which alone professes to 
record His visit to our suffering race. 

We readily concede that to demonstrate from Nature 
alone the great facts alluded to, arid especially the latter, in 
the sense of a life of happiness beyond the grave, is no easy 
task. But, be that as it may, we are not confined in our rea¬ 
soning to the testimony of a single witness. 

We assume, for the present, the existence of an All-wise 
Being, who created the universe; Who saw the end from the 
beginning; Who knew that adequate proof would be de¬ 
manded by man in order to his belief in a future life; and 
Who, therefore, did not handicap Himself in the matter of 
proof by resigning sovereignty to the laws of Nature, but 
purposed, and, as we shall show, has executed that purpose, 
to bridge the chasm which divides this life from the one be¬ 
yond the grave. But since our proposition is to be estab¬ 
lished in the minds of men and women, we pause to inquire 
what manner of being man is, in order to ascertain the 
method of proof in harmony with his constitution, and 
hence the best adapted to the end in view. 

Man is a trinity— i. e a physical, intellectual, and spir¬ 
itual being. Or, to express his nature more accurately and 
clearly —man is a spirit sustaining a threefold relation to 
his Creator. In the first, he is related to his Creator, 
through the realm of matter, by an union with a material 
body. Through this body he perceives and acknowledges 
his relation to physical law. In the second, he is related 
to his Creator through the realm of reason, by a mind that 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


11 


perceives and interprets objects of thought, objective and 
subjective, in their relations. By this mind he compares, 
contrasts, and discriminates between objects; notes their re¬ 
lations in time and place, of cause and effect; observes or¬ 
der, plan, and system; makes inductions and deductions; 
perceives law and adapts means to ends, and thus becomes 
a child of progress. Every step in material progress is a 
step through faith in law; and “the laws of Nature are but 
the thoughts of God.” In the third, he is related to his Cre¬ 
ator through the realm of spirit, by consciousness, con¬ 
science, faith, hope, and love. The soul makes three primary 
affirmations: It affirms the fact of its own being; and the 
fact of other being; and the fact of the continuity of being. 
It is conscious of its own acts and states only in the present; 
for those acts and states presently become facts of memory. 
Through memory, the soul knows its past acts and states 
as related to other being in point of time. The soul com¬ 
pares its own acts and states with its ideal of right and 
wrong, and conscience approves or disapproves those acts 
and states: and thus the soul, through memory and con¬ 
sciousness, knows itself as related to other being in point of 
character. It affirms its continuity semper idem and knows 
its status as a moral being; and thus government becomes 
possible. There is no break in this chain of being; other¬ 
wise rewards and punishments would be manifestly unjust 
because impossible. Suffering there might be, but punish¬ 
ment never; for the soul must know itself as related to an 
act or state before it van peiceive the relation of reward 
or penalty to that act or state. The soul perceives the eter¬ 
nal nature of moral law and its own relation to that law. 


12 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


As through consciousness, conscience, and memory, the soul 
is held to the court of the past, so through an abiding con¬ 
viction of the continuity of being as related to the supreme 
moral law, the soul is firmly held by hope and fear to the 
court of the future. Conscience links one to the future as 
memory to the past. Suffering is the penalty of violated 
law or the neglect to conform to law. Through faith and 
hope and love we come into harmony with God, and hence 
to health, peace, and happiness. “Perfect love casts out 
fear.” By the first, man became a subject of the law of 
God in inanimate nature and in his own body, and hence 
amenable to physical law. By the second, he became a sub¬ 
ject of the law of God in human government, and hence 
amenable to civil law. By the third, he became a subject of 
the law of God in conscience, and hence amenable to moral 
law. And hence it follows there is, for man, neither nook 
nor corner in the whole universe where divine law does not 
reign, so that freedom apart from that law is absolutely 
impossible. He must be a poor student, indeed, who can¬ 
not, under these instructors, learn of God. 

Not only is man such a being as here defined, hut, as 
respects development, he is such an one, and in the order 
here named; and hence a Physician who seeks to educate 
and develop and perfect our spiritual nature is compelled, 
by virtue of our constitution,to touch us first along the line 
of the physical, then of the intellectual, in order to lay a 
firm foundation for our faith in Him as the Physician for 
the spiritual man. This is precisely what has been done 
for man, and in proof of this allegation we now introduce 
our first witness. Our plan of argument requires that the 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


13 


evidence must address man’s physical senses and his pres¬ 
ent needs; must afford a basis for belief in the coming 
ages; and in doing so, must lay a sure foundation for be¬ 
lief in a future state; must so marshal events as to make 
present approval or disapproval a factor in governing con¬ 
duct in this life; and finally, must give such tangible and 
conclusive proofs of a future life and its conditions as will, 
when acted upon, bring man into harmony with God, and 
hence into happiness supreme. 

We may study the purpose of God concerning man from 
what He has done in Nature ;and in man and through man, 
by His Spirit in the prophets. But after all, His purpose 
respecting man as unfolded in Christ w^as never clearly 
understood by the prophets of old (Matt. 13:17; 1 Pet. 
1:12), and even the angels desired to look into “the mys¬ 
tery of redemption.” So far, every step in spiritual prog¬ 
ress has been made through faith in God’s promises in Re¬ 
vealed religion and in Nature; and obedience leading the 
searcher after truth unto the answer—in experience. God’s 
w r ord in Creation gave the universe and man; that same 
word in Providence upholds, governs, and sustains all 
things; while in Redemption, that same word makes us par¬ 
takers of the divine nature “through the exceeding great 
and precious promises.” (2 Pet. 1:4.) The power of an 
endless life to govern and educate man is put forth through 
the promises of God in His word. 


14 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


I. 

NATURE AS A WITNESS AND PROPHET. 

The atheist, assuming to possess the teaching of univer¬ 
sal experience, deduces therefrom the inviolability of the 
laws of Nature. From this new assumption, he deduces 
the immutability of the laws of Nature both as to the past 
and the present. From this latter assumption, he deduces 
the eternity of Nature and the perfect uniformity of her 
operations, whence he readily concludes: There is no God! 
Miracles are impossible! For if nothing can be that has 
not already been, the wheels of progress must cease to roll. 
Not only so, but Deity himself, according to this logic, 
would have been estopped in the act of Creation; and hence 
the universe and all things therein must always have been, 
or they are not and never can be. 

To this reasoning we reply as follows: 

Universal experience is not competent to determine 
what is impossible even for man to perform. Steam as a 
motor; electricity as a message-bearer, light-producer, and 
motor; the telephone, audiphone, wireless telegraphy, and 
ten thousand modern inventions; the processes of obtain¬ 
ing a beautiful metal from the clay beneath our feet, and 
of calling forth so many beautiful and variegated colors 
from coal, and of converting even granite rock into imper¬ 
ishable garments for man—were all, until recent years, en¬ 
tirely hidden from universal experience and to the unbe- 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


15 


liever absolutely impossible! But these are facts never¬ 
theless. But let us inquire: Can the present universal ex¬ 
perience, with the past before it, declare what even man 
may not yet accomplish ? 

But, really, have these gentlemen ever had in their pos¬ 
session the testimony of universal experience? Have they 
not driven from the witness-box all the Jews of antiquity? 
And must not all the apostles and primitive Christians keep 
mute before this impartial court of inquiry ? And, finally, 
the judgment of millions of believers of to-day is held to be 
incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial, in order for these 
gentlemen to obtain an universal experience suited to their 
purpose! And yet these same sages would pose as the coun¬ 
sel for all mankind and the logicians of all ages! In the 
language of Job to his advisers: “No doubt but ye are the 
people, and wisdom shall die with you.” (Job. 12:2.) 

I. THE FACT OF CREATION. 

We wish row to read a few brief chapters from this 
same wonderful text-book of Nature. We cordially invite 
our atheistical friends to criticise. We present these 
chapters as we read and penned them when a boy, so that 
we feel assured that our readers will be able to master them. 

“Chapter I.—Only matured animal forms reproduce 
their kind. This is evidently true of each individual of 
any species known to man. Any species must, therefore, 
have existed prior to its first reproductive act, and hence 
it follows that Nature, as we now see it, did not originate 
animal forms. Plainly she can only re-produce. A mira¬ 
cle, therefore, must have preceded man. If anyone prefers 


16 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


to think that he is descended from a monkey, we have no 
debate with him, but admit his claims at once. Our posi¬ 
tion is that man in general has a nobler origin. 

“Chapter II.—As to the origin of the vegetable king¬ 
dom, we read that it could not have preceded the mineral 
kingdom, and hence began to be. A single example will 
cover the whole field of discussion: Which was first, the 
oak or the acorn? As far as our argument is concerned, 
we care nothing at present for the answer. But one thing 
we do know, that, according to our present text of Nature, 
neither could have preceded the mineral kingdom, and 
hence both began to be. But again, according to the pres¬ 
ent law of reproduction, one or the other must have been 
first; for Nature now says the oak always springs from the 
acorn, and the acorn always grows on an oak. But if 
either was first, then a miracle must be admitted to account 
for that first oak, or that first acorn: for then we should 
have an oak-tree that did not spring from an acorn; or 
an acorn that did not grow upon an oak-tree. Nature 
does know miracle: re-production began in original pro¬ 
duction— i. e., creation. (Gen. 2.) 

“Chapter III.—Now as to the beginning of the min¬ 
eral kingdom, we inquire, Which was first, the whole or 
the parts? the smallest particle of matter visible to the 
eye, or the invisible particles composing the visible? As 
a concrete example: The smallest pebble of a composite 
rock is older than the rock as a whole; for the rock is since 
made up of boulders and pebbles cemented together. For 
the aime reason the grains of sand composing the pebble 
are older than the pebble. Again, the tiniest grain visible 


OF REDEMPTION" IN CHRIST. 


17 


to the eye is made up of minute and invisible particles 
revealed only by the microscope. The invisible is first in 
point of time, and here true science and the Bible agree. 
We shall let an able thinker answer: ‘The things which 
are seen are temporal.’ Again: ‘The things which are 
seen were not made of things which do appear.’ Organ¬ 
ization cannot precede unorganized material. But unor¬ 
ganized material in its ultimate analysis (the atom) is 
invisible. The seen came from the unseen. This is true 
of every plant and every animal, and is as certainly true 
of the mineral. No microscopical analysis or metaphys¬ 
ical speculation can set aside our conclusion founded on 
the logic of facts. 

“Chapter IV.—The mineral does not now convert 
itself into the vegetable, nor does the vegetable convert 
itself into the animal tissues. If Nature ever did so, a 
miracle there must have been— i. e., to say the eternal uni¬ 
formity of natural law is a hoax. Evolution from the 
lower to the higher is not effected by an upward push, 
but by an upward pull. The higher always reaches down 
and pulls up the lower. The vegetable feeds upon the 
mineral, but does not derive its being from the mineral. 
The animal feeds upon the vegetable, but does not derive 
its being from the vegetable. Being surely precedes feed¬ 
ing. The chain of atheistic evolution can never bridge 
the chasm between the non-living and the living, between 
the unconscious and the conscious. But matter ‘takes 
on’ life!—Yes, just as ‘man became a living soul.’ Life 
organizes, moulds, gives motion to matter and sustains all 
life-forms. It precedes organization as a builder, precedes 
the house, and may succeed its material home. 


18 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


“Chapter V. — All life we now see manifested is the 
product of antecedent life. The growth of living tissues 
is the result of antecedent life, animal or vegetable, util¬ 
izing food products. It is not effected by the conversion 
of living substances through inherent life into living tis¬ 
sues of a higher kind, but by a change of non-living sub¬ 
stances by means of an ulterior life into living tissues, 
plant or animal. Life alone can bridge that chasm be¬ 
tween the non-living and the living. This is evidently 
true as respects the conversion of non-living substances 
into the living tissues of our own bodies. It was true with 
our first 'parents, who, as we have seen, were not re-produc¬ 
tions, nor were they derived from the mineral or vegeta¬ 
ble, but were necessarily the product of miracle—of an 
antecedent Life. Thus Nature’s thread of life leads us 
up from the non-living to the living; from the living to 
antecedent ancestral forms of like nature; from these to 
primitive forms of like nature, ‘introduced at first in 
their best and highest forms’ (Sir J. W. Dawson, Earth 
and Man , p. 22 ); and from primitive forms to an anteced¬ 
ent Life of vastly superior powers—to a Creator: for let 
us suppose life to be manifested in an eternal chain of 
causation of successive but uniform links in which each 
individual is a link. Then each link save one, being a 
a succession, began to be. But that one, being just like the 
others, must have had a beginning; and hence our sup¬ 
posed eternal chain of causation of uniform links is man¬ 
ifestly absurd. 

“But let us suppose this eternal chain of causation to 
consist of successive links, each differing infinitesimally 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


19 


from its predecessor, and thus developing into higher and 
higher forms of life. On this supposition the successive 
links, and each but one must be a succession, began to be. 
But that predecessor, being essentially like the successors 
in point of duration, began to be. We can almost hear that 
first link cry out in infinitesimal tones: ‘I am the evolu¬ 
tionist’s god. There is none before me, and there shall 
never be another like unto me. Worship thou me!’ This 
is the modern method of bowing God out of the universe. 
It it the same spirit of selfhood that bowed man out of 
the Garden of Eden and has kept him out from that day 
till now, and its numerous brood can find their history 
clearly written in Rom. 1:18-32: ‘Be not deceived: God 
is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he 
also reap.’ But it will be clearly seen that any supposed 
eternal chain of causation, whether viewed as consisting 
of uniform links or of slightly differentiating ones, is a 
mathematical absurdity as well as a natural impossibility. 
But to return: Nature has no lesson of succession beyond; 
and hence analogy is at an end, and human reason, for 
want of data , is estopped from pursuing investigation far¬ 
ther. Life must be postulated to account for life on the 
globe. To assume, in the entire absence of data, that there 
may be a succession of Creators, as with creatures, is 
consistent only with the creed of the agnostic, who neither 
knows that there is a Creator, nor how He exists, and yet 
who knows beyond all doubt that if a Creator exists. He 
must have had a Superior! On any assumption he may 
make, the reality of miracle is maintained. There is a reg¬ 
nant, vital force in Nature, and life is lord over death. 
(See Steele's Popular Chemistry, p. 186.)” 


20 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


We are now ready to introduce our creed respecting 
the origin of the universe, and especially of life on our 
planet. We shall let another word it for us: “Through 
faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the 
Word of God, so that things which are seen were not made 
of things which do appear.” The material is the mani¬ 
festation of the unseen—the spiritual. “God is spirit.” 
So much for atheism. 

II. THE FACT OF PROVIDENCE. 

“While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, cold 
and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not 
cease.” (Gen. 8:22.) In connection with this covenant 
with Noah, we read our text: “God has not left Himself 
without witness in that He did good and gave us rain 
from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with 
food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17.) 

Let us now suppose ourselves to he standing before a 
wheel of fortune. The number of rotations it will make 
with a given impulse and the point of stopping are not 
supposed to be known to any present. A wagers B that it 
will stop at a certain point, and it does so. B, still think¬ 
ing the wheel to be governed by chance, accepts a second 
wager and loses; a third, and loses. What now would B 
think of that mechanism as to its being governed by 
chance? But we continue to observe, and find that for 
ten times in succession, a hundred, a thousand—yea, for 
six thousand times, without a single failure, the wheel 
stops at the identical point indicated by A. Who of us 
would now contend that such mechanism is governed by 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


21 


chance? So in our supposed world of chance. A single 
universal failure in the seasons would have swept the 
human race from the earth. But man is here, and an in¬ 
creasing series, too, and hence it follows that not a single 
cog in the perpetual motion of the heavens has slipped. 
Everything is in harmony, on time, and serving its pur¬ 
pose. No chance-work here. The perpetual motion of the 
heavens is a fact. But man is incompetent to invent 
perpetual motion on any scale whatsoever: for no man¬ 
made machine generates power. But every such machine 
requires power to start it and keep it in motion, and that 
power must come from without; and hence perpetual mo¬ 
tion is impossible to man. 

This is true of the human body. “God breathed into 
his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living 
soul. And when God commands that tenant to move out, 
all the medical skill and appliances known to the profes¬ 
sion cannot keep that mechanism in motion. “There is a 
spirit in man,” and “the body without that spirit is dead.” 
(Jas. 2:26.) But the perpetual motion of the heavens is 
a fact patent to all. There is plan, thought, and power 
back of it; and hence a Great Thinker. So that the reg¬ 
ularity of the seasons and the perpetual motion of the 
heavens can be accounted for only upon the hypothesis 
that there is a “God over all and through all and in all,” 
“Who is rich unto all that call upon Him,” and this be¬ 
cause “He upholds all things by the word of His power.” 
He never forgets nor overlooks the needs of His creatures, 
“seeing He gives to all life and breath and all needful 
things.” 


22 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


It has been suggested that the laws of Nature, be¬ 
ing general and uniform, will account for the regularity 
of the seasons and the consequent provision for the race 
without assuming the existence of a Supreme Being. But 
that there is a Divine Mind over and through and in Nat¬ 
ure is evident from the fact that to man has been given, 
in some instances, a prevision of changes in Nature so 
great as to affect the destiny of cities and nations. The 
famine in the city of Samaria, when mothers ate their own 
children, and the prophecy by Elisha of plenty and its 
fulfillment only twenty-four hours ahead, is a case in 
point. (1 Kings 17-19; 2 Kings 6-7.) Again: Phara¬ 
oh’s dream and Joseph’s interpretation of it to signify 
seven years of plenty and seven years of famine, and the 
provision made against that famine, saved two nations; 
and being such a public affair as to make fraud impossi¬ 
ble, is another case in point. (Gen. 41-45.) The proph¬ 
ecy of Agabus, "that there should be a great dearth 
throughout all the world, which came to pass in the days 
of Claudius Caesar,” and the purpose growing out of that 
prevision, to send relief to the poor saints at Jerusalem 
by the hands of Barnabas and Saul, is also in point. (Acts 
11:27-30.) That prevision determined the disciples among 
the Gentiles to contribute toward the support of the poor 
saints at Jerusalem. This liberality on the part of the 
Gentile converts did much to break down the wall of prej¬ 
udice between the Judaic wing and the Gentile wing of 
the early Church, and enables us to fix with certainty the 
dates of nearly all the books of the New Testament. Some 
mind above Nature has forecast the movements of winds 


OF REDEMPTION” IN' CHRIST. 


23 


and birds and unusual changes in seasons, and thus saved 
cities, peoples, and nations. 

III. THE FACT OF REDEMPTION". 

We do not wish to drive our skeptical brother from the 
witness-box in order that we might make a stronger plea. 
We desire his presence as a witness; for we purpose now 
to build an argument on universal experience. We be¬ 
lieve there is common ground on which every son and 
daughter of the race may stand and render an unanimous 
verdict according to the truth; and in this instance the 
voice of the people is the voice of God indelibly written 
upon our very groans and tears, filling us with hope. 
Please examine our first witness. 

Man - is Physically Diseased. —All sane minds will 
admit this fact. The body is as real as the spirit. We 
use the term “real” in the sense of “actual,” not in the 
sense of “enduring.” Pain is an universal experience. It 
is a fact of consciousness. To deny the fact of pain is 
to deny the veracity of consciousness. To deny the testi¬ 
mony of consciousness is to ignore the very foundation of 
certainty—even of our doubts, to become thoroughly ag¬ 
nostic. The notion that pain is the product of belief is 
neither sense, nor philosophy, nor science, nor religion— 
not even respectable moonshine. Pain produces the be¬ 
lief, and not belief the pain; produces the conscious knowl¬ 
edge of the fact of suffering. But we shall touch this 
point later, pausing only to say that disbelief in God and 
in His rightful authority, and disobedience to His law, and 
the erection of the personal standard of right, lie at the 


24 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


foundation of all suffering and are, in effect, as well as 
from a moral standpoint, anarchistic and subversive of all 
true government. 

The vast arm}- of physicians and their innumerable 
host of patients indicate that disease is very general. That 
it is universal we prove by an appeal to the reader’s every 
source of information; viz., his consciousness, intuition, 
observation, memory, judgment, reason, and faith. We 
have no live-forevers on our planet. (Heb. 9:27.) Per¬ 
fect physical health presupposes at least three things; viz., 
perfect organization at birth, perfect environment, and 
perfect adaptation to that environment— i. e ., conformity 
to the laws of exercise, eating, rest, clothing, and shelter. 
Under such conditions we might rationally expect to have 
perfect digestion, perfect assimilation; also the elimina¬ 
tion from the system of all dead, innutritious, and poison¬ 
ous substances, thus leaving the physical man in a normal 
state. But man is finite in wisdom and power, and hence 
he cannot forecast physical changes, nor anticipate their 
injurious effects, nor can he, at the imperative moment, 
command the means of adapting himself to changes in 
environment; so that, if finite wisdom be left undirected, 
or infinite wisdom being given to man yet unheeded by 
him, disease must necessarily follow. Man was created an 
holy but not a righteous being; an educable but not an 
educated being. He is therefore a child of progress, and 
must learn either in the school of faith or experience. 
This power to lay hold on the knowledge of the past and to 
transmit it to the future, the power of choice and the abil¬ 
ity to execute, distinguishes man from all other animals. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


25 


A perfect physical man is, upon any other supposition 
than that of a complete trust in and perfect obedience to 
the Infinite, an impossibility, as much so as a perfect spir¬ 
itual man would have been under the law. (Rom. 8.) If 
there be any imperfection here, it must have sprung from 
man’s want of trust in the Infinite. In a word, complete 
trust in God, supplemented by knowledge vouchsafed to 
man, would have prevented sin and all its consequences. 
Suffering is a necessary consequence of being created 
finite, provided that man is left without divine guidance;, 
or provided that man rejects such guidance. 

But man, according to the record, was created with an 
intuition which he has, to a great extent, lost through sin. 
The ability to perceive the characteristics of animals and 
to give appropriate names for them, man had at first. 
(Gen. 2:19-20.) We may safely assume that man also* 
possessed a spiritual insight into the laws of health and 
harmony which has largely been lost through sin. Purity 
intuitively reads purity; so justice, so wisdom, so inno- 
cency; so the animal man, the intellectual man, and the 
spiritual man. I can conceive of but two possible meth¬ 
ods of educating man, constituted as he was and now is,, 
into the likeness and perfection of God. One is through 
perfect faith in God and perfect obedience to His will, 
leading into the light, the life, the liberty, and the happi¬ 
ness of the sons of God, who never sinned. The other is 
through faith, supplemented by the bitter lessons of expe¬ 
rience in sin. 

Without attempting an argument at this point, we as¬ 
sume that man was not always conditioned as we now see- 


26 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


him. He was created, we learn, neither mortal nor im¬ 
mortal, but conditionally mortal and provisionally immor¬ 
tal. Had man been created mortal, then death is not the 
penalty of sin. (Rom. 5 :12.) Had he been created immor¬ 
tal, then man would not die. Personal sins only hasten 
the execution of the penalty* This earth was not intended 
as the permanent residence of man: but the means of 
egress would have been, had man remained loyal, transla¬ 
tion instead of death, as may be seen in two instances af¬ 
forded us. Provision was made for the perfect repair of 
wasted energies, but access to that Tree of Life was condi¬ 
tioned upon man’s complete trust in his Creator and per¬ 
fect obedience to His law. Man’s failure, then, originated 
in his own heart—in disbelief and disobedience; but the 
effect has reached the entire man. Through one act of dis¬ 
obedience man severed himself from the fountain of per¬ 
petual youth, so that now he is a mortal stripped of divine 
aid, save through a scheme of mercy that demands of him 
complete submission of his will to that of his Creator. 

Behold man, unbeliever in God that he is, but a firm 
believer in himself, surrounded by poisons and subject to 
unforeseen changes, hopefully making his wilderness jour¬ 
ney to a land where there is no death! 

“Hope springs eternal in the human breast. 

Man never is, but always to be, blest.” 

Materialistic doctors are learning that man loses more 
than mere breath when the hour of death comes. “The 
body without the spirit is dead.” Some hopeful physicians 
are in earnest pursuit of an anti-death germ as a means 
of immortality. Others entertain the notion that, by ideal 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


27 


suggestion or some such philosophy, we may soon hope to 
banish death and enter upon the reign of immortality. All 
these doctors overlook the fact that death is the result of 
God’s appointment growing out of one sin, and that very 
few have escaped alive; and so far as we have learned, not 
a single physician, but only men of faith. Still man hopes, 
it would seem, to climb up some other way to the courts 
of glory. But the Tree of Life is guarded still, so that 
proud and rebellious man is compelled to learn in the 
school of bitter experience the lesson he would better have 
learned through humility and faith: “Man shall not live 
by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of 
the mouth of God.” So it was at creation; so at the Red 
Sea; so in the wilderness journey when manna fell and 
the waters gushed forth from the rock Horeb to sustain 
life; so to-day, it is the word of God, and not material 
means, that supports life. When He calls, the spirit 
must move out of its clay tenement, and all the medical 
skill of earth cannot countermand the order. 

We readily grant that all natural appetites, desires, and 
passions are right in themselves, but their tendency is to 
excess—sin; and hence these must be held in subjection to 
the higher laws of intelligence, conscience, and the writ¬ 
ten will of God. But just what constitutes excess, appe¬ 
tite cannot determine in advance, if ever, and hence we 
read: “By law is the knowledge of sin.” Written law de¬ 
fines in advance the bounds of legitimate desire and grat¬ 
ification, and thus reveals sin to the sinner. Just as cer¬ 
tainly, but not so clearly, suffering from pain or disease 
reveals the fact that a law of health has been violated. In 


■28 


FOREGLEAMS IN’ NATURE 


either case, law, as given in advance in the Scriptures, or 
as revealed in the penalty in Nature, convicts man of sin. 

Sin is born of “ignorance and unbelief,” the fruitful 
ancestors of a perverse will; but knowledge comes through 
faith in God, obedience to His law, and experience arising 
therefrom; and hence, being at first in possession of the 
former and almost devoid of the latter, all we, like the 
primitive pair, have fallen short of the coveted glory of 
God. (Rom. 3:23.) Thus it has come to pass, through 
inheritance and personal acts and acquired habits, that the 
whole human family now groans on account of sin. Man’s 
dependence upon God must he learned by man even at the 
cost of life itself. But we are sufferers in hope. (Rom. 8.) 
Hod did not subject the race to suffering without hope. 
In our present state, suffering, to the sinner, is undoubt¬ 
edly a blessing in that it reveals a wrong course of action 
on his part, and urges him to repent and do right. Besides, 
a remedy in Nature fills him with the hope of recovery, 
and prophesies mercy along the line of the spiritual. God 
has thus subjected man to “suffering in hope,” says Paul; 
and to this agrees universal experience. According to this 
view, suffering for wrong-doing is just and right, and 
ought to continue and ivill continue to be, so long as man 
continues to rebel. This drives us to the conclusion fore¬ 
shadowed in Nature and corroborated by the experience of 
centuries, viz., (1) that all men must ultimately learn to 
do right; or (2) that some must suffer endless punish¬ 
ment; or (3) some will be annihilated. But if God is as 
just, merciful, and compassionate now as He ever will be, 
.and if suffering is consistent with His character now, we 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


29 


see no reason why suffering may not continue to be so long 
as man continues to neglect and to disobey God’s law. We 
look upon suffering in the next world as the result of an 
attitude toward God; and that attitude is the necessary re¬ 
sult of a choice to sin in this world. The only way con¬ 
ceivable to us to banish suffering is to banish sin; and this 
can be done only by coming into harmony with God. That 
provision has been made in the gospel (Rom. 1:16) as cer¬ 
tainly as provision has been made in Nature for alleviating 
pain and restoring to physical health. Our contention is 
that the evidence for a spiritual remedial system in the 
gospel is at least as clear and conclusive as that of a phys¬ 
ical remedial system in Nature. Man cannot sin with im¬ 
punity. Whether hope will be a possibility to the sinner 
beyond the grave, we see no warrant in Scripture and have 
no reliable data in Nature for presuming that such condi¬ 
tion will exist. But this by the way. We are now ready 
to state our second universal premise. 

Standing upon the indisputable fact of the universality 
of disease, we proceed to state our second universal prem¬ 
ise: Belief on the part of man in the existence of an 
efficient remedy in Nature for each of the ills flesh is heir 
to is also universal. Upon this belief and its complement, 
viz., that shilled physicians have ascertained, or may yet 
discover, what are the proper remedies for the various phys¬ 
ical ailments,—the entire practice of medicine is founded, 
and without which it could not exist for a single day. 

We use the term “remedy” in its broadest meaning — 
anything that will prevent disease, alleviate pain, or aid 
the organs in regaining their normal state. Life is in the 


30 


EOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


blood. But that vital current must be kept pure and must 
maintain its regular flow to and from all parts of the body 
in order to health. We care not how this is done, whether 
by medicine, magnetism, manipulation, ideal suggestion, 
faith, or by generating a healthful mood of mind—health 
will result; and in each instance the means is God-given 
and is a prophecy of a higher remedial system. The reader 
will observe that in just so far as we are wrong in our 
second premise, the practice of medicine is a delusion and 
a cheat. But that such is true of the practice we positive¬ 
ly deny. Many patients, we are aware, have lost all hope 
of deriving any aid from the skill of their physicians, but 
who, nevertheless, firmly believe that adequate remedies 
exist somewhere in Nature. It may be that a resort to 
drugs, unknown as yet, or tired Nature’s restorer, or a 
change of climate, or mineral springs, or, perchance, a new 
moral atmosphere is needed; but in any event, we have 
never known one to doubt the fact of the existence in 
Nature of efficient remedies. Does the reader doubt it, or 
ever hear of such doubter ? 

Physicians, of course, are in honor bound to admit the 
fact of such remedy, or to concede that they practice decep¬ 
tion whenever they practice medicine. The whole medical 
profession are shut up to our conclusion. The patient will 
never dispute it. The Creator has written in man’s very 
groans the universal, unwavering, and therefore instinctive 
belief in the existence of a remedial system in Nature. 
How earnestly physical pain calls for a remedy! What a 
prophecy of its existence! Here, you philosophers of uni¬ 
versal experience, make a note. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


31 


Having established the universality of disease, and also 
the universality of belief in the existence of efficient rem¬ 
edies in Nature, it follows: Unless human nature is a 
fraud, and universal experience is misleading, and human 
reason at her zenith of glory is highly deceptive,—there is 
a physical remedial system in Nature; and hence also there 
is a Great Physician who foresaw disease and provided the 
remedy. 

This conclusion is as certainly true as that skilled phys¬ 
icians can discover and apply the remedy. Prescience and 
adaptation are here seen, and hence, assuredly if it requires 
mind to discover and apply the remed}^ Mind must have 
foreseen the disease and provided the remedy. An uni¬ 
versal, rational, and well-grounded belief is not the product 
of chance. The fact, then, of a physical remedial system 
is a fact of Nature, of observation, and of experience. It 
clearly indicates that the Great Physician “is not willing 
that any should perish.” Honor, then, to whom honor is 
due. Physicians, honor the Great Physician, the Master 
of the art of healing. 

To you we now make a special appeal:—Deny the ex¬ 
istence of a Great Physician, then you must deny that there 
is a remedial system in Nature. Deny this latter, then you 
must admit that the practice of medicine is a delusion and 
a cheat; and not only this, but that human instinct, uni¬ 
versal experience, and human reason furnish no reliable 
data for reaching a just conclusion. Are you ready for the 
alternative? The argument here adduced appeals to your 
individual experience—to every individuals experience. It 
appeals to the honor and intelligence of physicians in par- 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


32 

ticular. Are your patients sick? Are there remedies in 
nature? Have yon discovered them? Have you ever ad¬ 
ministered those remedies? Has anyone been cured under 
your treatment? Which, in your opinion, requires the 
greater intelligence, to create and adapt a remedy for a cer¬ 
tain disease, or simply to discover and apply that remedy? 
Back of the discovery and application of the remedy we 
find a physician. Back of the creation and adaptation of 
the remedy there must be a Great Physician. And thus 
it has seen that Nature unmistakably proclaims the exist¬ 
ence of a physical remedial system and also of a Great 
Physician; besides , it clearly intimates His coming to visit 
our suffering race. “God is not willing that any should 
perish ” is an oracle of Nature as well as of Holy Writ. 
(2 Pet. 3:9.) We are now ready to introduce our second 
witness. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


33 


II. 

FULFILLED PROPHECY. 

PART I. 

At this point the thoughtful reader may inquire for 
proof external to Nature and complementary of that al¬ 
ready adduced. Nature, as we have shown, has clearly 
indicated through the fact of a physical remedial system 
the Great Physician's purpose to visit man; and mans 
soul, feeling the need, of such aid , has expectantly awaited 
His coming. If there be a Great Physician who wills our 
health and happiness, what more reasonable than that He 
should seek to guard us against contracting disease, and, in 
the event of disease, to make known the remedy? And 
may we not rationally assume that, in cases of necessity, 
He would amputate any and all members dangerous to the 
health and the existence of the body. Can it be possible, 
then, that sixty centuries of suffering and agony and death 
have come and gone and no medical attention has been 
given? Not even an answer as to the cause of all our suf¬ 
fering ! Or shall we maintain that the Great Physician has 
come? But if so, have those visits been recorded? What 
is the evidence ? 

We are now ready to affirm the following proposition: 
The Great Physician has positively touched man in a super¬ 
natural way. This we shall argue from the following facts: 

I. The Preservation of the Race,—T o preserve 
— 3 — 


34 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


the race it must be constantly supplied with food. But the 
granaries of earth do not contain enough provision to sus¬ 
tain the race one year beyond the coming harvest. So that, 
had the conditions ever been such as to have caused one uni¬ 
versal failure in crops, the race must have perished from 
the earth. Had not prevision in some instances been given 
to man, in order to provision against famine, nations must 
have perished. Only our rapid and very perfect means of 
transportation now saves millions annually from starvation. 
But the fact of preservation is before us, and hence a divine 
Providence is manifest. True to His pledge to the human 
family, “God has not left Himself without witness in that 
He did good and gave us rain from heaven and fruitful 
seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” (Gen. 
8:22; Acts 14:17. See Jas. 5:17-18.) 

II. The Laws for Prevention of Disease. —In 
arguing this point we need to mention only a few rules of 
hygiene as laid down by the Great Physician. Good men 
disclaim their authorship. Bad men are wholly incompe¬ 
tent. Besides, a tree is known by its fruits. 

All natural appetites, desires, and passions of the nor¬ 
mal individual are right per se; but their tendency is to 
excess—sin. Some inherit a very strong possible tendency 
to sin, and others cultivate a natural tendency till it be¬ 
comes their master. But, sooner or later, every normal 
individual must face the problem of the most potent pas¬ 
sion. He will demand an explanation and will seek the 
means of gratifying its pleadings; hence the duty becomes 
imperative that the boy, at this time, be wisely taught and 
guarded. The problem pf destiny often turns upon tbe 


OP REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


35 


explanation he now receives and the means and methods of 
solving this problem. The wise control passion; the foolish 
let passion control them. 

But who are the instructors ? On the one hand, a large 
class of animal men and boys; on the other, a small corps 
of spiritual advisers, and mother, often , through false mod¬ 
esty, absent from the latter. Under these circumstances, 
the average boy begins the real battle of life. One instruct¬ 
or affirms and the other concedes, that the passion is God- 
given and right. One ignores an external standard, and 
makes passion itself the standard, and its gratification, at 
first, the proof: the other contends that it is never a true 
guide nor a proper judge of right-doing, since it seldom di¬ 
rects action into right channels, nor does it ever fix proper 
bounds for its exercise. Besides, it is not the wisest coun¬ 
selor of the highest and most permanent physical pleasure; 
for it often brings bitter and lasting regrets, sickness, and 
a premature death. Study well the dangers in the vortex 
of illicit pleasures before venturing within its circle. Be¬ 
hold its museums of vice! Bemember that the most deli¬ 
cate and complex mechanism demands the most skillful 
guidance and control. So, too, the sweetest pleasures of 
earth, if abused and perverted, become the source of intens- 
est suffering; and this, the strongest God-given natural 
bond of physical, intellectual, and spiritual union, if sev¬ 
ered by moments of illicit pleasure, becomes the unfailing 
source of bitterest enmity and eternal regrets. One’s best 
thought, a pure conscience, personal observation, and expe¬ 
rience should be brought to bear in solving the prob¬ 
lem aright. Appeal to the fruits of illicit pleasure as 


38 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


written on the pages of history—wrecked lives, broken 
homes, fallen nations and empires, blasted hopes, and 
eternal shame. Indeed, the commentaries on vice are now 
before us. No. It is not, in itself, a cup of poison deli - 
ciously sweetened to tempt man, but the effort of Infinite 
love to unify the home and ennoble and perfect man. 
Personal health and happiness and that of posterity, and 
a consciousness that brings no regrets, but only fond 
memories, belong only to those who heed the counsel of 
Him who knowetli our frame. Why not experiment— 
“sow our wild oats”? “Hear the conclusion of the whole 
matter,” said that prince of ancient natural philosophers 
and the master experimenter of the ages along the lines 
of pleasure: “Fear God and keep His commandments: for 
this is the whole duty of man.” (Eccl. 12 :12-13.) 

Unalloyed pleasure brings no regrets. It is not self¬ 
ish and sensuous merely, but mutual and co-operative and 
creative. It adds new being, widens the circle of pure af¬ 
fection, purifies the fountain of individual, family, and 
social life, prevents disease, brings peace to earth and 
honor to God, and links humanity to divinity through the 
divine law of harmony—love in holy wedlock. But if this 
teaching and practice be ignored, and appetite assumes 
control, then man descends through moments of illicit 
pleasure below the plane of the brute into shame and dis¬ 
grace: for he is not a creature of instinct solely, but of 
intelligence and conscience also, and as such he is amen¬ 
able to moral law. The spirit of man, as we shall show, 
is an abiding entity; there are no breaks in the chain of 
spiritual being. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


37 


Consciousness, through memory and conscience, holds 
man firmly to the court of the past, and there is no appeal. 
The moral law, like gravitation, is universal and eternal, 
so that the conscience must forever hold man to the su¬ 
preme court of the universe —“we must all appear ” 
There is no escape and no appeal; so that man must learn 
to do right either in the school of faith or of experience; 
otherwise he must suffer for wrong-doing. His Creator 
placed him in the school of faith, and with reference to 
the universal and most potent appetite in man. He gave 
the following rules of hygiene: “A male and a female 
created He them.” “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s 
wife.” “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” “Flee forni¬ 
cation.” “Flee youthful lusts.” Whoso looketh on a wo¬ 
man to lust after her hath committed adultery with her 
already in his heart.” “Keep thy heart with all diligence.” 
Had this medical advice from Him who knoweth our 
frame been faithfully followed by man, what beautiful, 
what divine forms would now greet our raptured vision, 
instead of the ungainly and degraded and loathsome wit¬ 
nesses of vice and crime! What kingdoms had not fallen! 
What rivers of innocent blood had not been shed by infat¬ 
uated lovers and by monsters in sin! 

We close this paragraph with a scene from real life— 
often paralleled, but seldom confessed. A young medical 
student returns home to visit his parents and to mingle 
for awhile with friends and school-mates in the old church 
home. Of fair form, very fair complexion, clear blue 
eyes, dark wavy hair, an intelligent countenance, and 
pleasing address, he was respected by all who knew him. 


38 


FOREGLEAMS IN' NATURE 


A few years later our young student receives his diploma 
and moves West to begin the practice of medicine. 

Twenty-five years pass and we meet again. What a 
change! The whole man is a confession. His figure no 
longer erect, his hair unkempt and graj r , and Time, alas! 
has laid too many wrinkles on that once fair and inno¬ 
cent brow. That mirthful, pure, and peaceful look of 
youth has faded from the eye, and now it speaks vividly 
of sorrow and shame and remorse. The soul reflects its 
moods, and smiles no longer wreathe the countenance: for 
memory seems to make rapid journeys to the past, and 
conscience summons him to the court of eternal destiny. 

We listened to the old story of mutual love and a happy 
home, of a third party and alienated affections, and of 
two lives forever separated. Religious convictions had at 
first wavered, then weakened, and finally gave way to pas¬ 
sion. Imperious passion swept the dikes away, and the 
ocean of sin rolled its billows over him: and not only over 
him, but, according to his own statement, through him, 
over hundreds more. He went farther and was considered 
“the young man’s friend”! But he needed a religion and 
turned Spiritualist. The spirits, it seems, were unusu¬ 
ally accommodating in his case—they granted him a day- 
vision. Said he: 

“I entered an immense amphitheater where row upon 
row of seats as far as vision could reach, all filled with 
people of every age, from the ancient patriarch and the 
aged grandmother with snowy locks, down to young men 
and maidens, met my eye. That vast assembly were look¬ 
ing down upon some scene in the center. I never shall 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


39 


forget those looks of tenderness and pity and infinite com¬ 
passion. I turned to see, and—my God! all the victims 
of my unbridled appetite were in the court against me; 
and in their midst scores of young wives and maidens and 
little innocents—all the victims of my criminal practice. 
That innumerable host in the gallery instantly turned and 
pointed at me the finger of scorn, and myriads of eyes, 
which a moment ago were so full of compassion for others, 
now flashed through my very soul looks of infinite disgust 
and contempt; while their shout, like the voice of many 
waters, ‘He did it for pleasure and money / swept my soul 
out of the vision as unfit for the presence of man , not to 
say God ” 

The power of God to make man see the sinfulness of 
sin is not yet exhausted. Escape from conscience? Never. 
(Psa. 139.) When the veil of illicit pleasure is with¬ 
drawn, and man must view his actions in the light of 
their eternal bearings, God forbid that any of my readers 
shall ever face such a scene. 

“But what of the present ?” we asked. 

“Rather than indulge in such practices again, I would 
suffer my limbs to be cut in piecemeal from my body/’ 
was the reply. 

“Demented,” does someone say? No; only coming to 
himself. Smiles and tears were gone, but hope remained. 
It gleamed forth as of old on hearing again the old story 
of Jesus and His love for His enemies (Isa. 53), mani¬ 
fested in His prayer on the cross (Luke 23 :24) and in His 
final invitation to a lost world (Rev. 22:17). (Read Amos 
9:2-6; Eccl. 12:14; Heb. 4:12-13.) 


40 


FOREGLEAMS IN' NATURE 


Having noticed the stiongest natural appetite and its 
perversions and consequent evils, we now call attention to 
a few rules of hygiene with respect to the strongest ac¬ 
quired appetite and ifr accursed habit: “Wine is a 
mocker; .... whoso is deceived thereby is not 
wise.” Under its spell one thinks himself a millionaire, 
though clad in rags; exceedingly strong, yet unable to 
walk alone; wise, yet a fool; and the most moral of men, 
when the mouth is a fountain of indecency. Truly wine 
is a deceiver. “Woe unto him that giveth his neighbor 
drink . . . and maketh him drunken also.” (Heb. 

2:15.) “The works of the flesh are manifest, which are 
these: adultery , fornication , . . . drunkenness , rev¬ 
eling s, and such like: of the which I tell you . . . that 

they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom 
of God.” (Gal. 5:19-21.) Strong drink unfits a man 
for every responsible vocation in life; it ruins his health, 
destroys his intellect, deadens his finer sensibilities, brings 
him to a drunkard’s grave, and ruins his soul. It does 
it now; and that decision, so patent to common sense and 
observation, cannot be reversed in the court of the future. 
Our teaching has been fully demonstrated in the school 
of experience in the tears and groans and broken hearts of 
innocent wives and husbands and sons and daughters of 
our race—and yet quacks will appeal to the microscope 
and fools will experiment as if to annul an irrevocable 
law\ 

Better heed the counsel: “Abstain from all appear¬ 
ance of evil.” “Watch and pray that ye enter not into 
temptation.” “After this manner pray ye. . Thy 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


41 


will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. 

Lead ns not into temptation.” “Touch not, taste not, han¬ 
dle not.” Had these and similar hygienic rules laid down 
by the Great Physician in advance, and at the cost of a 
farthing, been heeded, not a single jail nor State’s prison 
nor Keeley Institute could be found in our beloved land 
to-day! Obedience to these few simple rules would pre¬ 
vent almost every form of crime and disease, and restore 
our suffering race into a millennium of peace and health, 
prosperity and happiness. True economy and true pros¬ 
perity and true happiness can never be had save in har¬ 
mony with the laws of health and righteousness and moral 
decency. 

In these days of superior light in ethics and psychol¬ 
ogy, we are feasted upon the doctrine of knowledge by 
contrast only. We can only glance at this wonderful mine 
of religious and scientific truth of modern (?) re-search. 
The notion that man’s fall was the first step in his prog¬ 
ress toward knowledge; that he could not have learned the 
right without first having learned the wrong; that he must 
“do evil that good may come,”—is, to my mind, pure non¬ 
sense rather than science. Behold this modern (?) doc¬ 
trine that we can know only by contrast! We must know 
two things before we can know one! Must know the acids 
before we can know the sweets, and in order to know the 
sweets! It seems to me that reasoning is as old as the first 
temptation. The angels that sinned not and the Lord 
Himself have not taken the first essential step toward real 
knowledge! So said his Satanic majesty. So teaches nat¬ 
uralism—animalism. When Adam tasted of this knowl- 


42 


EOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


-edge by contrast he could answer, “I was afraid and I hid 
myself ! 3 (Gen. 3:10.) And every experimenter since 
has said, “And 1, too/’ The mystery of evil and suffer¬ 
ing is not solved on the above hypothesis. Among the pur¬ 
poses of suffering we mention these: (1) To enforce the 
sentence of guilt. (2) To teach us that we are subject to 
law that may not be violated with impunity. (3) That 
we are dependent on God for our existence and health. 
(4) That this latter can be had only through obedience 
to law. (5) And, in-connection with a remedial system 
in Nature, to inspire in us a hope for spiritual healing. 
Suffering in our present school of experience looks to spir¬ 
itual culture. (2 Cor. 4:17; 5:5.) 

III. The Fact of Laws for Healing. —People be¬ 
come sick. What then? All adown the ages, the Great 
Physician, through prophets, apostles, and ministers, has 
been calling unto man, “Turn ye, turn ye: for why will 
ye die?” “Let the wicked forsake his way , and the un¬ 
righteous man his thoughts, and let him turn unto our 
God.” The voice of one long foretold (Isa. 40:3) cries 
out in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent ye: for the king¬ 
dom of heaven is at hand.” The chosen twelve, and after¬ 
ward the seventy, took up the same theme: “Repent ye: 
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Master said: 
“Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish! 3 “God 
now commandeth all men everywhere to repent! 3 (Luke 
13 :5; Acts 17.) The reader will notice that this is medical 
advice for the physical man as well as for the spiritual. It 
lies at the very basis of all sound philosophy of cure. It is 
the divine prescription for all ages, for all peoples, and for 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


43 


all climes. This is not an arbitrary command, making it 
right to repent, but is the wise, reasonable, and loving ad¬ 
vice of the Great Physician, founded upon the very nature 
of man as related to health. It is the authoritative coun¬ 
sel of Infinite Wisdom to return to God in harmony with 
the law of God—the law of health. Moral law and the 
laws of hygiene must harmonize. Unity pervades all di¬ 
vine law. 

IV. The Fact of Amputation.— We would natur¬ 
ally expect, as already indicated, that the Great Physician, 
knowing as He does our ignorance of self and the dan¬ 
ger of misgovernment arising therefrom, would lay down 
some simple rules in advance for the government of this 
machine so fearfully and wonderfully made; and when 
necessity demands it. He would amputate any and all mem¬ 
bers dangerous to the existence and health of the body— 
i. e., the race. And hence we read, “A male and a female 
created He them.” The equal division of the sexes in all 
ages since creation means that a law of physical well¬ 
being was written in creation and in our constitution. 
And when the violation of law here suggested became 
well-nigh universal, filling the earth with violence and 
blood and open rebellion against heaven (Gen. 6), in or¬ 
der to preserve our race from physical rottenness and 
extinction, as also from a hopeless spiritual degeneration, 
the Great Physician brought a flood upon the ungodly, 
saving but eight righteous souls. The cases here cited are 
regarded by some as acts of injustice and cruelty incom¬ 
patible with the attributes of a wise and just and merciful 
God. The same objection lies against Nature if we deny 


44 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


the existence of God or the truth of the Bible. But in 
these, and in cases of cyclones, famines, earthquakes, and 
volcanic eruptions, the actual suffering is less than in the 
ordinary course of Nature. God sometimes emphasizes His 
hatred for sin, so all the world can read, and yet without 
additional suffering. When people ignore God’s warnings 
in the Old Book and make their appeal to the constancy 
of Nature —“all things continue as they were from the 
beginning”—it is not passing strange that God would 
give them a chapter from their favorite text-book that they 
must read. Such we here cite. 

Again: When Sodom and Gomorrah had plunged into 
bestiality beyond the possibility of restoration, nothing 
remained but to amputate, which fact was accomplished 
by fire and brimstone. (Gen. 19.) This is an example 
to warn modern Sodomites. (Jude 7.) 

So, too, when the cup of the seven nations of Canaan 
became full, when they were offering their sons and 
daughters in the fire as sacrifices to false gods, another 
amputation became necessary. (Deut. 12 :30-31.) 

Coming down to the year 70 A. D., when the Jewish 
nation had become like a man possessed with seven un¬ 
clean spirits (Matt. 12), or as a carcass ready for the vul¬ 
tures (Matt. 24:28), and after the Great Physician had 
done all in His power to restore to health, and they would 
not take the remedy,—another amputation by war and pes¬ 
tilence was made to teach all nations the necessity of obe¬ 
dience to the divine prescription. They should “become an 
astonishment, a proverb, and a byword.” They should 
“be scattered from one end of the earth even to the other”; 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


45 


“should become idolaters/’ “and should find no ease”; 
and finally we read, “Neither shall the sole of thy foot 
have rest.” (Deut. 28.) Here is prophecy, and its fulfill¬ 
ment is before us. Even the hissing, “Don’t that beat the 
Jews!” bears testimony to the divine origin of our Script¬ 
ures. “Ye shall not commit any of these abominations 
[committed by the nations cast out], that the land spue not 
you out also, as it spued out the nations before you.” 

Now what were those amputations but “mercy rejoic¬ 
ing against judgment”? (Psa. 136.) What physician 
in possession of common sense and skill in his right 
hand cannot vindicate the wisdom, the justice, and the 
mercy of the Great Physician in these and in all similar 
cases of amputation? In the midst of wrath He remem¬ 
bers mercy. (Hab. 3.2.) Men do forfeit their right to 
live, man himself being judge. And may not the Great 
Physician and Judge of all the earth do with a nation as 
the lesser ones deal with individuals ? Reader, do you think 
He understands the case? or should He call to His aid 
some very wise agnostic? (Rom. 1:18.) 

Y. The Fact of Special Cures. —By reference to 
this same record of fulfilled prophecy, we learn that the 
Great Physician has positively healed man in numerous 
and well-authenticated instances. Of these we need men¬ 
tion but a few: 

1. He lengthened out Hezekiah’s life fifteen years. 
The patient was a king, and the healing was in answer to 
prayer. But the will of the Healer and the prescription 
were made known to the king through the prophet Isaiah. 
The event was known to the whole nation and recorded 


46 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


by the prophet (Isa. 38), and also in the public records 
of the nation. (2 Kings 20:1-11; 2 Chron. 32:24-32.) 
The news of the healing reached the king of Babylon, from 
whom Hezekiah received letters of congratulation and a 
present. (Isa. 39 :1.) Surely “this thing was not done in 
a corner!” 

2. The case of the Assyrian general is also in point. 
Naaman was perfectly cured of his leprosy by dipping, at 
the prophet’s direction, seven times in the river of Jordan. 
Faith in God and love for her master begat in the heart 
of a captive maid a wish that her lord could be with the 
prophet in Israel to be healed of his leprosy. That wish 
fell from her lips, reached the ear of the king, and moved 
him to send his great general, accompanied with a train 
of servants, bearing many talents of silver and gold, and 
several changes of raiment, as. a present to the prophet. 
One fact serves to give this cure the greatest publicity. 
General Naarnan carried a letter of introduction from the 
king of Assyria to the king of Israel. It read thus: 
“Now, when this letter is come unto thee, behold I have 
therewith sent Naaman my servant to thee that thou may- 
est recover him of his leprosy.” On reading this royal re¬ 
quest, the king exclaimed: “Am I God, to kill and make 
alive, that this man doth send unto me to recover a man 
of his leprosy? Wherefore, consider, I pray you, and see 
how he seeketh a quarrel against me.” 

Hope dies: Namaan turns away in despair. But 
Elisha, hearing of the king’s behavior, sent a messenger 
to say: “Let him come now to me, and he shall know that 
there is a prophet in Israel.” “Naaman came with his 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


47 


horses and his chariot and stood at the door of Elisha.” 
As if to strip the general of all thought of greatness, and 
to bring him by faith to the severest test of humility, the 
prophet sent his servant to say: “Go wash in the Jordan 
seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and 
thou shalt be clean.” 

Naaman was wroth, and turned away, saying: “Behold, 
I thought, he will surely come out to me, and stand and call 
upon the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand 
over the place, and recover the leper.” One of man’s great 
mistakes is to limit the Almighty in His methods. “I 
thought” says the general and “I think” says the modern 
critic. Such people are not quite ready for healing—they 
want to give prescriptions rather than take the medicine. 
(See John 9 :16-24.) But especially was he wroth because 
of the condition imposed; viz., to dip in the muddy J or dan 
instead of Abana or Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better 
than all the waters of Israel. But his servants pleaded ; 
the leprosy clave to him; the Jordan came into view: and 
the words, “Wash and be clean,” rang in his ear. “Naaman 
went down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, ac¬ 
cording to the saying of the man of God, and his flesh 
came again like the flesh of a little child.” In a joyful 
mood he returned and confessed: “Behold, now I know 
that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel j” 

No medical work ever presented a better authenticated 
fact of healing than this one. The witnesses were a cap¬ 
tive maid, the king of Assyria, a king of Israel, a prophet 
of Israel, the prophet’s servant, a whole train of servants— 
eye-witnesses, and the fact of record. 


48 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


Gehazi’s evidence becomes especially strong and monu¬ 
mental. When Elisha refused the presents, his servant 
had a day-dream. He dreamed of vast riches, of beautiful 
and costly garments, of oliveyards and vineyards, of sheep 
and oxen, of menservants and maidservants. His cupid¬ 
ity moved him to follow after and get gain from Naaman. 
He lied to Naaman, and on his return lied to the prophet. 
As a reward for all this cupidity, lying and seeking to 
make merchandise of the favor of God, the prophet said: 
“The leprosy of Naaman therefore shall cleave unto thee 
and unto thy seed forever. And he went out from the 
prophet’s presence a leper as white as snow.” (2 Kings 
5:27.) This living monument to the healing of Naaman 
served to impress the fact of healing upon thousands of 
Israelites. This thing was not done in a corner. If the 
healing did not take place, the event could never have 
gained credence. Jesus refers to it in such a way (Luke 
4) as to have called forth denial had the truth of the fact 
ever been in dispute. Now, reader, please note the fol¬ 
lowing facts: 

1. The virtue was not —in the water. 

2. The virtue was not —in the dipping. 

3. The virtue was not —in the general. 

4. The virtue was not —in the prophet. 

5. The virtue was not —in all of them combined. 

6. But the virtue was in God , and was put forth at the 
time, and in the act, of Naaman’s coming to God in 
His appointment. (2 Kings 5. For a parallel faith, see 
Josh. 6.) 

Some power above Nature did touch man upon the 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


49 


plane of physical healing , as we have already shown. 
Nothing short of a chain of events such as we have cited 
and similar displays of power could have originated and 
perpetuated the belief in such wonders. It is our purpose 
to show that the same power luas exercised in succeeding 
ages as the basis for a belief in a higher remedial system. 

VI. NATURE AND THE BIBLE IN HARMONY. 

Nature and the Bible, we may here observe, perfectly 
accord as complements of one universal system of morality. 
The never-failing, impartial, universal, and providential 
care and goodness of God toward our race are seen in the 
sun that shines upon the evil and the good; and in the 
rain that falls upon the just and the unjust ; and in the 
fruitful seasons that fill man’s heart with food and glad¬ 
ness. (Matt. 5; Acts 14.) But the Author of Nature 
as God over all and in provision rich unto all is, in fact , 
rich unto those only who call upon Him; so that we may 
read from Nature as from the Bible, Whosoever calls upon 
God, in His appointments, shall be saved. And on the 
other hand, He that disbelieveth, and as a consequence 
does not call upon God in His appointments, shall be con- 
demned. "God is no respecter of persons.” (Mark 16.) 
He makes adequate provision for all in grace as in Nat¬ 
ure. He respects all alike in His appointments, but He 
does not honor him who neglects or violates His law either 
in nature or in grace. (Acts 10:34-35.) 

Nature, in providing a physical remedial system, 
prophesied of a higher remedial system for the soul. Sup¬ 
pose no provision had been made in Nature for the healing 

^ 4 — 


50 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


of physical disease, how should ice argue, in such a world 
of suffering , in favor of a spiritual remedial system? 
And would not the unbeliever , in the absence of such pro - 
vision, present an unanswerable argument against the al¬ 
leged claim for a higher remedial system? But in har¬ 
mony with the voice of God in Nature, His dealings with 
the race anciently, His prophecies to His chosen people, 
the types and shadows of the Jewish religion—all clearly 
foretold the coming to earth of “One who should take our 
infirmities and bear our sicknesses.” So general was this 
expectation that He was aptly styled “The Desire of All 
Nations.” See Josephus, Wars, VII., 5, 4; Suetonius’ Life 
of Vespasian, Sec. 4; and Tacitus, History, V., 13. (Mc- 
Garvey on Evidence.) 

VII. THE DEMONSTRATION THROUGH FAITH. 

Our line of argument suggests that we now call another 
witness. Leaving the fields of natural intuition, reason, 
and deductions from purely physical experience, we enter 
upon the demonstration through faith. Our knowledge 
of the past rests upon intuition, personal experience, and 
observation, and faith in human and divine testimony. 
But experience can never declare the future life and its 
conditions (1 Cor. 2:9); neither can intuition perceive 
a necessary relation between the present consciousness and 
that life beyond the grave: but the probable relation of the 
present stream of consciousness to another life it does per¬ 
ceive. The normal and universal experience of longing for 
life begets a hope. Nature knows no halves: so that 
science points to the future as a reasonable answer to man’s 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


51 


longings and aspirations. Each outward organ of sense 
is adapted to perceive its own class of objects; and without 
the latter, the former would be meaningless. So too the 
longing of the soul has its counterpart. The love of 
purity, peace, holiness, and harmony with the Supreme is 
not a mockery—such souls can not be separated from the 
love of God. (Rom. 8:38-39.) Besides, the loss of outward 
organs of sense does not destroy a single idea perceived 
through those organs. One may lose the four outward 
organs of seeing, hearing, tasting, and smelling, and the 
mind will retain vividly every idea that it received through 
those organs. It seems very probable that, should one lose 
in addition the organ of feeling, the mind would retain 
all ideas received through that sense; i. e., we do not cease 
to know at death. The soul’s perception of facts impossi¬ 
ble of perception by the outward senses, as in telepathic 
communications or dreams, argues for it an existence in¬ 
dependent of outward organs. The soul, amid all the 
changes in nature and that come to the body, affirms its 
identity —semper idem: and the visions of dying saints 
(Acts 7:56-60) and the appeals of the Great Majority in 
that solemn hour furnish a stronger plea than those of the 
living. After all, this is only probable proof of a future 
state. God knew that man would search for such proof, 
and sought, at a very early date, to give reasons for that 
belief —in the translations of Enoch and Elijah. These 
are exceptions to the rule that “it is appointed unto men 
once to die” (Heb. 9:27), but they prove the fact of con¬ 
tinued being for at least two righteous persons, and are 
plainly representative of their class, who shall remaiix at 


52 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


Christ’s coming and he changed in a moment to immor¬ 
tal beings (1 Cor. 15:51; 2 Thess. 4:15-18.) As before 
hinted, but very few people ever get out of this world alive. 
Neither the author nor his readers will be of that honored 
few: so that all our reliable knowledge concerning the fu¬ 
ture life must necessarily rest upon faith —that a voice has 
broken the silence of the underworld and has spoken in 
tones of authority concerning the redemption from the 
grave. That authority we shall show, in another chapter, 
has been expressed in terms of power—physical, intellect¬ 
ual, and spiritual. 

Faith is the fundamental principle of all human action 
in this life. All the machinery of earth is invented and 
run in faith: the literature of the world is printed and 
read in faith: the home, the school, the church, society, 
and every civic institution and every government of earth 
has for its corner-stone—faith. Faith in the constancy 
of Nature and man’s ability to adapt means to ends in 
conformity to her laws, is the key-note of all material prog¬ 
ress. Faith has conquered the wilderness, ascended the 
rivers, crossed the oceans, discovered new worlds, tunneled 
mountains, spanned continents, obliterated seasons, an¬ 
nihilated space, lighted up a world with electricity, and 
harnessed hitherto unknown forces through a knowledge of 
harmony. How natural that religion should rest upon 
that principle! 

Again: The unswerving fidelity of God to His word 
is the fundamental proposition to be proven in religion , 
Jewish or Christian. But how can this proposition be 
established in the mind of man ? Evidently in but one way; 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


53 


viz., God’s word of promise must be spoken and men must 
obey and come to the ansiver. For what God will do con¬ 
cerning man can be certainly known before it comes to 
pass only through His promise: so that the fundamental 
principle of proof in religion is faith in God's word of 
promise leading the believer through obedience — i. e., con¬ 
formity to spiritual law—unto the answer. That faith may 
require man at one time, “Stand still and see the glory of 
God”: and again, “Go forward.” Prove Him by putting 
His truthfulness and veracity to the test is the divine 
method. (Psa. 34:8; John 7:17; 8:31-32.) No man 
who ignores that test can ever come to know. 

Our knowledge of the past in religion is derived solely 
through faith in God’s word. Who can point to a scin¬ 
tilla of truth in religion not found therein? (2 Tim. 3: 
16-17.) Our knowledge of the present verities of religion 
is necessarily grounded upon the sacred records of the past. 
Deny those records, and the mist of eternal darkness 
spreads over our race. Our knowledge of the future in re¬ 
ligion rests, (1) upon the certainty of alleged supernat¬ 
ural facts of the past; and (2) upon the stream of life 
springing out of those facts; and (3) upon a present ex¬ 
perience based upon the alleged facts of the past, and con¬ 
stituting a verification, in part , of the claims of the gospel, 
and looking with unclouded vision to the future for com¬ 
plete verification. God gave the fountains in times past 
in the prophets, and in these last days in His Son (Heb. 
1:1), and by Him through the Holy Spirit in His apostles. 
That stream of life, through these, has come down to us 
in all its beauty, power, and life, and we, like trees, are 
planted by the river of waters. 


54 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


If our position be correct, then our knowledge of par¬ 
don, and of present acceptance with Godand of the future 
state, cannot be more certain than the foundation facts 
upon which these rest. In other words, no man can be 
more certain that he has been pardoned and of his present 
acceptance with God and of a future life than he is of the 
truth of the alleged fact; viz., that “Jesus Christ died for 
our sins, according to the Jewish Scriptures”; or, that 
“He rose for our justification”; or, that “He now lives at 
the right hand of God to make intercession for us.” How 
these facts are recorded in the Bible alone; so that we 
are driven to the conclusion that the sole source and 
standard of knowledge in religion is God’s word given to 
chosen witnesses, and verified by their personal observa¬ 
tion and experiences, and through them to His people. 
There is no stopping-point between this position and the 
grossest skepticism on the one hand and the wildest fan¬ 
aticism on the other. “Secret things belong to God, but 
things revealed to us and our children forever.” (Deut. 
29:29.) 

In accordance with this method of proof, God called 
out, upon faith in His word, chosen witnesses. To these He 
verified His every word of promise. He made each veri¬ 
fication the basis of a broader, deeper, and stronger faith. 
See the case of Abraham, who, against all natural grounds 
of hope, believed in hope. (Gen. 15 :5-6; 17 :l-22 ; 22 :1-18; 
Heb. 11:17-19.) In doing this, He made the tests of such 
character, variety, and number, and the circumstances of 
the fulfillment such as to remove every doubt from the 
minds of the chosen witnesses. Through these chosen wit- 


OP REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


55 


nesses and by these public tests He demonstrated His fidel¬ 
ity to His word, unto the masses—both friends and ene¬ 
mies; for disbelief and disobedience have demonstrated 
God’s fidelity to His word as effectually as belief and obedi¬ 
ence : hence we read, “The wrath of God has been revealed 
from heaven against all ungodliness.” (Rom. 1-18.) 

The past in the demonstration creates expectation; the 
present must realize to some extent the expectation of the 
past; and this latter must fill the believer with hope for 
the future. At first the ground of belief must be presented 
in the present. This was accomplished through God's word 
of promise verified in man’s obedience; secondly, through 
that word confirmed by miracles wrought in the presence 
of those to he convinced—as in the case of Naaman and 
of the widow’s son at Kain; and thirdly, by prophecy veri¬ 
fied within a short interval—as of the great plenty imme¬ 
diately following the famine in which mothers in Samaria 
ate their own children (2 Kings 6-7); or, that to Peter 
concerning the fish with a coin in its mouth—the Mas¬ 
ter and Peter’s tribute money. (Matt. 17:24-28.) Mon¬ 
uments were erected (Josh. 4:1-13) and commemorative 
rites instituted, as the Passover (Ex. 12), to keep in mem¬ 
ory the fundamental facts of the Jewish religion. In 
addition, these facts so commemorated are made typical of 
the fundamental facts and ordinances of the Christian re¬ 
ligion hundreds of years in the then future. And finally , 
the Spirit of prophecy, under the old as under the new 
dispensation, forecasts in grand outlines the history of 
the world (Daniel; and Revelation), and the utter over¬ 
throw of cities, as of Babylon (Jeremiah 50-51) and Jeru- 


FOREGLEAMS IN' NATURE 


salem (Matt. 24). That Spirit calls unborn rulers by 
name, as Cyrus and Jesus; gives them a commission, and 
foretells that incidents, seemingly unimportant, shall be 
rehearsed to the very end of time. For example, that act 
of the woman breaking the box of ointment and pouring 
it upon Christ “shall be told of her as a memorial in all 
the world.” It is even so. But the main interest of this 
class of evidence gathers about Christ and His mission. 
This evidence has been unfolding for centuries and much 
of it may now be read as an open book. As the chain of 
prophecy recedes into the past and the prophetic links 
come into view—each prophecy being fulfilled 'accurately 
and at the appointed time, the evidence, at length, reaches 
a degree of certainty that admits of no doubt. The order 
of Nature is not more certain than the fulfillment of 
prophecy. “By the word of God the heavens were of old, 
and the earth, by that word, stood out of the water [Gen. 
1:9] and in the water [Gen. 7] : whereby the world that 
then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the 
heavens and the earth, which are now, by that same word 
are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of 
judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (2 Peter 3: 
5-7.) “He upholds all things by the word of His power.” 
(Heb. 1:3.) “The heavens and the earth shall pass away, 
but My words shall not pass away.” (Matt. 25 :35.) That 
word preserved His people in the wilderness journey. 
(Dent. 8.) That word in the gospel is the incorrupti¬ 
ble seed of which saints are born (1 Pet. 1:23), and by 
which they are sanctified (John 17:17), and become 
partakers of the divine nature through its exceeding great 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


57 


and precious promises (2 Pet. 1:4). By that word we 
bridge the chasm of death: “Because I live, ye shall live 
also.” (John 14:19.) Every sunrise confirms our belief 
in another: so too the promises of God sacredly kept for 
thousands of years are as immutable as the throne of the 
universe: and when the chain of prophecy and promise 
extends beyond the grave and we look back upon the almost 
innumerable links already fulfilled , we may conclude in 
the language of mathematical reasoning, True up to the 
limit, true at the limit: Man will live again. 

The steps in the proof are very simple and are as 
follows: 

God’s command and promise : man’s belief and obe¬ 
dience; AND THE ANSWER. 

I. The evidence of chosen witnesses we sum up as 
follows: Abel believed God, obeyed God, and came to the 
answer—God testified to his righteousness. Cain saw that 
testimony, and, because of jealousy and envy occasioned 
thereby, slew Abel. Abel’s faith testifies— God is faithful. 

Noah believed God in the face of “the constancy of 
Nature,” obeyed God, and came to the answer—salvation 
from the deluge. When Noah received his answer, even 
his critics knew that God had spoken. Neither will there 
be any doubters when God vindicates His word by the 
baptism of fire at the day of judgment. (2 Pet. 3:5-7.) 
Our earth passed through the reign of fire at first, and after 
that through the reign of water. (Earth and Man , pp. lO- 
ll.) The possibility of such an event is no longer a matter 
of doubt. The recent destruction of Saint Pierre, de- 


58 


FOREGLEAMS in nature 


scribed by a captain who was an eye-witness as “a glimpse 
of hell,” suggests the power of Him “who touches the 
mountains and they smoke” to repeat the process till “the 
earth shall melt with fervent heat.” We need to learn that 
the word of God is more enduring than “the everlasting- 
bills.” That word upholds all things and reserves this 
world unto a second deluge of fire “at the day of judgment 
and perdition of ungodly men.” (2 Pet. 3.) 

Moses believed God, obeyed God, and came to the answer 
—led his people out of Egypt. There were no doubters 
on that occasion. Pharaoh had inquired, “Who is the 
Lord that I should obey Him V* The close of his life as 
recorded on a tablet reads thus: “And then-!” Mo¬ 
ses fills out that significant-! in Exodus 14:26-28. 

Naaman believed the man of God, obeyed the man of 
God, and came to the answer—wholly cured of his leprosy. 
With unanimous voice these and hundreds of heroes of 
faith declare: God is faithful. 

II. The testimony of the chosen nation we may briefly 
state as follows: Israel, in forsaking Egypt, believed the 
word of God through Moses, obeyed that word— Go for- 
vmrd —and came to the answer—deliverance through the 
Red Sea. 

Again: In the face of perils from hunger, from thirst, 
from nakedness, from poisonous serpents, from armed and 
powerful enemies on all sides, they believed God, obeyed 
God, and came to the answer—standing upon the border 
of the promised land. 

For forty years the pillar of cloud had signaled to 
march, had led the way, given shade by day and light 




OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


59 


by night to the tented hosts of Israel (Ex. 13:21-22). 
During all these years the manna distilled as dew (Ex. 16: 
35), their garments waxed not old, and their feet never 
grew sore (Deut. 8:4). They slaked their thirst in the 
limpid stream which, at the command of their leader, 
gushed forth from the rock of flint (Ex. 17:6), and they 
heard their God, out of the midst of fire, proclaim in audi¬ 
ble voice, His law from the holy mount (Deut. 4:10-13). 

Unbelief saw nothing but death ahead. “Through 
that great and terrible wilderness wherein were fiery ser¬ 
pents and scorpions and drought, and where there was no 
water,” the eye of reason perceived no way, and natural 
hope saw no star to tell of a land of plenty beyond. To the 
ken of natural vision, the prophecy of death for the wives 
and little ones must certainly come true. Well might one 
ask, Why did Moses lead his people into such terrible 
perils ? After forty years of reflection, Moses gave an an¬ 
swer that commends the wisdom of his course to all fu¬ 
ture ages. We give that answer in his own words: “Thou 
shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led 
thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and 
to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether 
thou wouldest keep His commandments or no. And He 
humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee 
with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy 
fathers know; that He might make thee know that man 
doth not live by bread only, but by every word that pro¬ 
ceeded out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live:' 
(Deut. 8:2-3.) Again, unbelievers bear testimony to the 
truth of the Bible. “My soul loatheth this light bread”— 


60 


TOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


tired of eating the bread from heaven. (Hum. 21:1.) 
Their carcasses mark the entire route from Egypt to 
Canaan; but their wives and little ones, for whom they 
prophesied death by starvation, through faith in God stood 
on the banks of Jordan and listened to that matchless 
farewell discourse of their great leader. 

By faith Israel crossed over the Jordan on dry ground. 
(Josh. 3.) A monument was erected that same day by 
representative men, from each tribe a man, to confirm 
this fact unto generations yet unborn. The whole nation 
witnessed the miracle—saw the monument erected: there 
was no deception: and to assume a national conspiracy 
for the purpose of fraud is to assume there was no honor — 
there is none save in the modern critic! (Josh. 4.) By 
faith the walls of Jericho fell. (Josh. 6.) By faith the 
the seven nations of Canaan were overthrown and God 
gave His people rest in the land He had sworn to give to 
Abraham and his seed after him. 

III. The commemorative evidence in proof of God’s 
dealings with His chosen people gathers chiefly about 
the Sabbath, the Passover, the Pentecost, and the Feast of 
Tabernacles. 

The Sabbath commemorates primarily the finished 
work of Creation. God began and finished the work of 
creation and ceased to create. Then, we are told, “The 
morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God 
shouted for joy.” (Ex. 20:11.) It points back to a first 
day—a day of primary importance. And, in the light of 
what has gone before and is to follow, it points to a new 
and higher creation in the distant future, the*dawn of 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


61 


which is even now visible. Besides, it is closely associated 
with the Redemption of Israel from Egyptian bondage. 
(Deut. 5 :15.) And for that reason Israel was commanded 
to keep it holy. It also served to emphasize the fact of 
the special providence of God over His chosen people in 
sending manna to sustain life during their journey to the 
land of promise. (Ex. 16.) The manna fell six days, 
but on the seventh it fell not. What a day for holy medi¬ 
tation by that people who had witnessed the marvelous 
power of their God to save and to keep! 

The Passover warns of death and points to the way of 
life. It reminded the Israelites of the destruction of all 
the firstborn of Egypt not under the blood; and commemo¬ 
rated the redemption from bondage and death of Israel , 
Jehovah's firstborn, through their faith in the blood and 
under the blood of the Paschal lamb. The sentence of 
death rested upon every soul of Israel not under blood. 
This institution is God's object-lesson, teaching man by 
fearful emphasis the necessity of getting under the blood of 
the covenant. Deliverance, then, was not from bondage 
merely, but from impending death for all not under the 
blood. Deliverance from bondage and diseases incident 
thereto was simultaneous with their deliverance from death 
and by the same means; viz., faith in the blood. Their pass¬ 
age out from under bondage into freedom was made under 
the blood. Every redeemed soul was covered with the 
blood. God passed over the blood and all under the 
blood. Redemption through faith in the blood of God's 
appointment is the grand fact here commemorated. It 
clearly typifies the far greater salvation through the pre - 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


62 


cious blood of the true Paschal Lamb. Christ our Passover 
has been sacrificed for us. (Ex. 12; 1 Cor. 5:7.) 

The Feast of Pentecost was kept on the fiftieth day 
after the Passover. The day following the Passover was 
the Sabbath. On the next day the firstfruits of the barley 
were presented. (Lev. 23:10-12.) At that time the bar¬ 
ley ripened at Jericho. (Josh. 3:15.) The priest waved 
the firstfruits of the harvest “on the morrow after the 
Sabbath” following the Passover. (Lev. 23:11.) They 
counted seven full weeks, beginning the count with the 
morrow after the Sabbath. (Lev. 23:15.) The count 
ended with the morrow after the seventh Sabbath. “Seven 
Sabbaths shall be complete.” (Lev. 23:15.) The Pente¬ 
cost fell on the first day of the week. At this season the 
wheat ripened, and the Jews brought the firstfruits of 
the wheat and firstfruits of all the ground. (Lev. 23:17- 
20; Ex. 23:19; Deut. 26:2-10.) 

No Jew was permitted “to eat bread nor parched corn 
nor green ears,” until he had first worshiped God in this 
beautiful service of offering the firstfruits. The mean¬ 
ing of this feast and the law is set forth in Deut. 26: 
2-10. The Jew began his confession to the priest as fol¬ 
lows : “I profess this day unto the Lord thy God that I am 
come into the country which the Lord sware unto the 
fathers for to give us.” The priest then received the offer¬ 
ing and set it before the altar, and the worshiper contin¬ 
ued his address before the Lord: “A Syrian ready to per¬ 
ish was my father, and he went down into Egypt and so¬ 
journed there with a few r , and became there a nation great, 
mighty, and populous.” The address then recites the 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


63 


grand steps in coming to the promise of God unto the 
fathers, and closes with these very appropriate words: 
“And now% behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the 
land, which Thou, 0 Lord, hast given me.” 

The fidelity of God to His promise unto the fathers is 
the central fact here commemorated. This was effected 
through a v r onderful redemption and providence over His 
people. The feast looks forward to an abundant harvest. 
It is closely associated in time with the giving of the law, 
and thus points forward to a distant but joyful Pentecost 
when other husbandmen should bring the first golden 
sheaves of a new harvest. (Acts 2.) 

The next great festival was. the Feast of the Taber¬ 
nacle. This w r as kept during the week beginning the fif¬ 
teenth day of the seventh month of the Jewish sacred year. 
On the tenth day of the same month was the Atonement , 
to w T hich we briefly refer. On that day the high priest 
made a sin-offering first for himself and afterwards for 
the people. (Lev. 16.) Arrayed in the beautiful holy 
garments (Ex. 28), with a censer filled with burning coals 
from the altar before the Lord, and with the blood of a 
bullock, and sweet incense, he entered the Most Holy, bear¬ 
ing the names of all Israel upon his heart. The cloud 
of incense, typical of the prayers of the saints, arose and 
filled the Most Holy, covering the mercy-seat. The high 
priest then sprinkled the blood with his finger upon the 
mercy-seat; and before the mercy-seat he sprinkled the 
blood seven times. He then took of the congregation 
two goats for a sin-offering, and cast lots upon the goats: 
one for the Lord, and one for the scape-goat. He then 


64 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


slew the former, and sprinkled its blood upon and before 
the mercy-seat, as in the case of the bullock. With the 
blood of these animals he cleansed the Holy Place and the 
tabernacle and the altar. 

He next took the live goat, laid both his hands upon its 
head, and confessed over him all the iniquities of the chil¬ 
dren of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their 
sins, putting them upon the head of the goat; then he sent 
the scape-goat away by a fit man into the wilderness. “And 
the goat bare upon him all their iniquities into a land not 
inhabited.” He next offered a ram as a burnt-offering for 
himself and one for the people. The bodies of the animals 
whose blood was brought into the Most Holy were carried 
forth without the camp (in after times without the city) 
and burned in entirety. Thus the high priest made an 
atonement for himself and for the people. This atone¬ 
ment was made every year, showing that it did not make 
the worshiper perfect as respects the conscience. The 
world needed an offering that would be accepted once 
and for all time. And that was made only by the shedding 
of the more precious blood upon Calvary, of which all the 
crimson streams from Patriarchal and Jewish altars were 
but types. (Lev. 16; Ex. 28; Heb. 9:22; Lev. 23:34.) 

Their sins having all been covered by the blood of the 
atonement, and their wheat and all the fruits of the land' 
having been garnered, the chosen people entered joyfully 
upon the Feast of the Tabernacles. It was indeed a har¬ 
vest home. But it was more. It was a monumental insti¬ 
tution as well; another call to remember; another effort 
to unify the chosen people. In this marvelous histor}'' 
we see the hand of a Master-workman forging the chain 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


65 


of unity. He bound His people together by the ties of one 
common blood; by the ties of common suffering in one long 
night of cruel bondage; by the ties of one common deliver¬ 
ance and redemption through blood; by the ties of one 
common and unparalleled training in that greatest school 
of faith ever held on this earth. But now they needed to 
be unified as His peculiar people in the land of promise, 
so as to conserve that unity unto all coming generations. 

This object was effected in part by the great national 
gatherings already referred to. In this latter they were 
warned not to forget their humble beginning; that God 
had caused them to dwell in booths when He brought them 
from Egypt to Canaan, and that He had taught them 
how, in the very jaws of death, to solve the problem of life. 
To the eye of natural reason, all was lost. Unbelief saw 
no bread and no water for wives and little ones: and nat¬ 
ural hope, seeing no star, sickened and died in the bitter- 
terness of despair: but Faith, laying hold on the unlim¬ 
ited resources of Nature's God, walked triumphantly for¬ 
ward into the land of promise. Here the devout Jews, 
.during their great national feasts, commemorated the won¬ 
derful events of the past, carefully studied the present, 
and longingly turned their eyes toward the future. 

It will be seen that the Jewish religion rests upon out - * 
ward facts — i. e., facts addressed to the physical senses — 
not one, but all of the senses. The Passover, the passage 
through the Red Sea, the pillar of cloud, and the fall of 
manna for forty years, the voice of God out of the midst 
of the fire speaking the ten commandments, and the water 
from the rock of flint, were each and all of such character 
as to admit of no deception. 


66 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


The monuments and commemorative rites already re¬ 
ferred to were erected and instituted at the time of the 
events and in memory of them and received the sanction 
of the eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses. (Deut. 5:2-26.) 
There was no dissenting voice. 

This marvelous history was rehearsed, and the reasons 
for the observance of the rites given by those who bore an 
active part in the events celebrated; so that their children 
became thoroughly acquainted with all the main facts 
of God’s providence over their fathers; and hence we very 
naturally read: “And Israel served the Lord all the days 
of Joshua and all the days of the elders that over-lived 
Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord 
that He had done for Israel” (Josh. 24:31.) 

The fundamental facts, the witnesses, and the monu¬ 
ments are co-existent. Proof: “The Lord made a cove¬ 
nant with us at Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant 
with our fathers , but with us, even us, who are all of us 
alive here this day. The Lord talked with you face to face 
in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, saying, 1 am 
the Lord [here follow the ten commandments], . 
and He added no more.” (Deut. 5:2-22.) This is the 
constitution of Israel. The preamble makes it impossi¬ 
ble of acceptance , in the first instance , by any save eye¬ 
witnesses and ear-witnesses of the facts alleged: “God 
made not this covenant with our fathers.” If the alleged 
facts did not occur, they were impossible of belief; if they 
did occur, they would not, could not be forgotten: for par¬ 
ents would naturally tell their children; and, besides, the 
commandments were written on tables of stone and kept 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


67 


sacredly in the Most Holy as the fundamental law of Is¬ 
rael from that time forward; and in addition the Jews had 
their Pentecost, the anniversary of the birthday of their 
nation—of the covenant at Horeb. (Heb. 9:4.) The 
faith of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, and of Israel devel¬ 
oped into a national existence, into a national life: so that 
Joshua , that great general of that ee faith that subdued* 
kingdoms” in his farewell exhortation, could say: “Ye 
know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one 
thing hath failed of all the good things which the Lord 
your God spake concerning you” (Josh. 23:14.) 

He rehearses the wonderful history of that people from 
the call of Abraham to the possession of Canaan by his 
posterity. Through faith in God , originating in the prom¬ 
ise, developed, confirmed, and sustained by outward, visi¬ 
ble, and tangible manifestations of God’s presence, they 
came into their inheritance. A great stone is set up as a 
witness of their admission of these facts and of their re¬ 
newal of the covenant at Horeb. This being done, He let 
the people depart, every man to his inheritance. (Josh. 24.) 

Passing by the argument from types, as the Passover, of 
our Paschal Lamb; the passage through the Red Sea, of 
Christian baptism (1 Cor. 10); the manna in the wil¬ 
derness, of our manna in Christ (John 6); the water from 
the rock Horeb, typical of that from the Rock of Ages 
(1 Cor. 10); the salvation by the look of faith at the 
serpent lifted up, typical of ours by faith in Christ,— 
we next call attention to the argument from prophecy. 

This kind of evidence belongs exclusively to the Jewish 
and the Christian religions, and distinguishes these from 
all others; and just as clearly distinguishes the prophets 


68 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


of the Old and the New Testaments from all modern 
would-be-seers. When the latter seek to demonstrate how, 
by opening the soul to the divine inflow and by closing it 
to the lower self, one may, by intuition, perceive truth at 
first hand, independent of Moses and the prophets, Christ 
and His apostles, we quote to them Isaiah’s challenge to 
the prophets of false gods: “Let them tring forth and 
show us what shall happen, . . . declare us things for 

to come. Show the things that are to come hereafter in 
order that we may know that ye are gods.” (41:21-23; 
43:9; 44:7; 46:10.) All who have attempted this have 
utterly failed. Will the modern seer meet the test? Fore¬ 
seen, forecast: foreknown, foreshown, is the method of the 
argument. 

VIII. FOREGLEAMS OF A BETTER HOPE. 

The bondage of sin had not been broken. All their 
great heroes of faith were numbered with the dead, and 
ere long they, too, would be gathered unto the fathers. But 
what of the promise? (Gen. 22:18.) Watchman, what 
of the night? A crimson stream was ever flowing on¬ 
ward. It pointed to a salvation greater than they had ever 
yet known. By blood, the power of death was averted on 
the night of the first Passover. By blood, on the day of 
atonement, all their guilt, for the time being, was covered 
and the scape-goat bare their sins into a land uninhabited. 
The center of unity and hope now shifts from the fields 
of past and present experiences to that of the future— to 
that of prophetic vision. The gates of death had closed 
over all their friends, and no voice had broken the silence 
of the tomb to tell of hope beyond. The need of a Kedeem- 
er from sin and from the guilt of sin, from death and the 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


69 


dominion of the grave, becomes more and more apparent 
as the years roll on. Centering in this Messiah, we find 
the most remarkable literature of earth. Is it the litera¬ 
ture of dreamers? Is it the forecasts of the intuition of 
souls in tune with the Infinite? Let the modern seers 
parallel this literature, and we shall be ready to accept 
their philosophy. 

The diversity of imagery made use of to set Him forth 
in His relations is very remarkable. He should break the 
power of him who held man in the grave. (Gen. 3:15.) 
He should destroy the veil once spread over all nations. 
(Isa. 25:8; 1 Cor. 15:54-57.) He is styled the Desire of 
all nations. (Hag. 2:7.) He is the seed in whom all 
nations should be blest. (Gal. 3:16; Gen. 22:18; Acts 
26:4.) “His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, 
The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of 
Peace.” (Isa. 9:6.) Jacob, in his dying hour, prophesied 
that “the scepter should not depart from Judah nor the 
royal staff from between his feet until Shiloh come”; and 
that “unto Him should the gathering of the people be,” 
(Gen. 49:10.) Moses foretold the coming of a prophet 
who must be heard by the Jews upon the penalty of their 
being cut off from Israel. (Deut. 18:15-19.) Micah tells 
us that He should be born in Bethlehem of Judah (5:2); 
Malachi styles Him “the messenger of the covenant whom 
ye [Jews] delight in,” and fixes the time of His coming— 
“He shall suddenly come to His temple”; hence before 70 
A. D. Isaiah tells of his wonderful miracles upon the blind 
the lame, the deaf and the dumb. (35:5-6; 42:7; 53:4.) 
But by whatsoever name He is called. He is always to be 
the Savior of His people. 


70 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


III. 

FULFILLED PROPHECY. 

PART II. 

We are now to show that the Foregleams in Nature and 
in the Jewish religion have been in a large degree realized 
in history and in Christian experience. 

In order to make the argument tangible, we pass from 
the vague, the general, the emotional, and highly figura¬ 
tive language of the foregleams to the positive, specific, 
and concrete statements of prophecy. We must “reason 
out of the Jewish Scriptures, opening and alleging that 
the Christ must needs have suffered and risen from the 
dead; and that this Jesus whom we preach unto }Ou is 
the Christ.” (Acts 17:2-3.) “The testimony of Jesus is 
the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev. 19:10.) Jesus says of 
Abraham: “He rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it 
and was glad” (John 8:56.) Of Moses He says: “Had 
ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me: for he 
wrote of Me” (John 5:46.) He quotes Isa. 61:1-3 and 
applies it to Himself. (Luke 4:18-21.) “And beginning 
at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in 
all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself ” (Luke 
24:27.) Someone has said, “The literature of the future 
is a lofty literature,” and certainly no part of that liter¬ 
ature better deserves the name, and at the same time so 
exactly meets the conditions of legitimate argument, as 
the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


71 


This remarkable prophecy was translated into the 
Greek not later than 170 B. C. It was widely circulated, 
and was read prior to the coming of Christ by thousands 
of Greeks and by myriads of Jews. The Ethiopian treas¬ 
urer was reading from this same chapter in the Septua- 
gint version when Philip met him. (Acts 8:28.) It is 
then beyond doubt prophecy. 

I. The Marks of Identification.— These are so 
numerous and explicit that no impostor could possibly 
meet the conditions of this prophecy. 

1. The subject of it should be adjudged innocent and 
then condemned, be justified and afterward slain. (Acts 
8:33; John 19:4-6.) “I find no fault in Him. Take ye 
Him and crucify Him.” (Pilate.) 

2. He should die violently, yet willingly—“cut off,” 
yet “satisfied.” (John 10:18.) “He knew no sin”; hence 
did not die because He had violated law. “I lay down My 
life of Myself.” “No man taketh My life” [against My 
will]. He died willingly. “I lay down My life for the 
sheep” 

3. He should be with “the wicked in His death,” but 
“with the rich and noble in His grave.” (John 19 :38-42.) 
How strangely beautiful! The Shepherd had been smit¬ 
ten; His flock scattered; their hopes blasted: hut secret 
disciples in this dark hour busy themselves giving Him 
an honorable burial! 

4. He should be “oppressed and afflicted,” but “He 
would not open His mouth”— i. e., in complaint. “He re¬ 
viled not again,” said an eye-witness. (1 Peter 2:23.) 

5. “Bruised of God,” but “the pleasure of the Lord 
should prosper in His hand.” (1 Peter 3:18.) 


72 FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 

6. “He should see of the travail of His soul and be 
satisfied.” “It is finished (John 19:30; Kev. 5:9; 7:9.) 

7. “He should make intercession for the transgres¬ 
sors” ! “Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do.” (Luke 23:34.) 

8. “He should be cut off out of the land of the liv¬ 
ing,” but afterwards “He should prolong His days.” 
(John 10:17-18; Acts 1:3; 1 Cor. 15:1-8.) 

9. After His death He should become a great ruler of 
earth. “I will divide Him a portion , with the great, and 
He shall divide the spoil with the strong.” The fulfill¬ 
ment is before us. (Luke 24:46-47.) We may argue this 
fact from Christian monuments; as (1) Christian time— 
July 4, 1902; (2) Christian Sabbath— i. e., the Lord’s 
Day; (3) Christian Church—behold her edifices, hear 
the calls to worship, witness her humane institutions; 
(4) Christian baptism—a formal confession and expres¬ 
sion of faith in Christ; ( 5 ) Christian Passover— i. e ., the 
Lord’s Supper; and (6) Christian life. 

10. And, finally, the basis of His authority and do¬ 
minion differs from that of every other ruler; viz., His 
death for mankind. It is thus stated by the prophet: 
“Because He hath poured out His soul unto death; and 
He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the 
sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” 

Jesus of Nazareth, and He alone, fulfills every condi¬ 
tion of this remarlcable prophecy . The fact that Isa. 53 
is prophecy; that it contains the account of some great 
person’s death, burial, life, and rule after death; that it 
specifies so many incidents in that life seemingly impos- 



OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


73 


sible, and yet all meeting in Jesus of Nazareth, while no 
three meet in any other, removes this Scripture from the 
domain of chance, and stamps it with the divine impress 
of prescience and its subject as the "Desire of all nations.” 

II. His Name. —As age upon age have come and 
gone, an ever-increasing stream has been flowing on 
through our dark, sinful, and suffering world, bearing its 
heavenly gifts of light and life, of righteousness and 
peace, of health and beauty, and hence it becomes us to 
inquire, Whence the adequate and the unfailing fountain ? 
To this and myriads of kindred questions, the only perti¬ 
nent and conclusive answer is, Jesus. Does Nature pro¬ 
claim a physical remedial system, and hence a Great Phys¬ 
ician? Call His name Jesus. Has God written in our 
very groans and tears an undying belief in a Great Phys¬ 
ician and an earnest longing for His coming? Call IHs 
name Jesus. If we inquire, What mean those rivers of sac¬ 
rificial blood, those forty centuries of prophecy, of faith and 
of hope, of prayer and of song, of longing and of expecta¬ 
tion? Again we may read: "Call His name Jesus: for 
He shall save His people from their sins.” (Matt. 1:21- 
25; Phil. 2:5-11.) In a future chapter we shall develop 
this fact more fully. 

III. His Introduction. —True to the voice of God 
in nature, and in the longings of the human heart, and in 
the breathings of the Holy Spirit in the prophets, Jesus 
of Nazareth came as the personal expression and pledge of 
Jehovah’s purpose to redeem. This was no ordinary event, 
and hence we very naturally look for an introduction wor¬ 
thy His rank and mission. The beginning of each indi- 


74 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


vidual is an nnsolvable mystery, yet we may rationally con¬ 
clude that our fellows began like ourselves: but that the 
first pair of human beings began like we, no man of even 
a little power of discrimination will for a moment contend. 
Here, then, in the federal Head of the physical race, we 
find one indisputable exception to the uniformity of nat¬ 
ural law; and this fact prepares the way for the belief 
that there has been another in the “second Adam, the Lord 
from heaven.” 

The prediction of such an unusual event by one who 
has, as we have seen, so specifically foretold of the same 
One so many other strange things (Isa. 53), all of which 
have been accurately fulfilled, renders this alleged event 
(Isa. 7:14) at least very probable. The power, the wis¬ 
dom, the mercy, the love of God was clothed in flesh. (1 
Tim. 3:16.) In the light of prophecy, how befitting His 
claims is the annunciation to the Virgin by the angel of 
the Lord! (Luke 2.) And then, too, the glad tidings 
of great joy to all people at the birth of the Savior, and 
the angelic music on the hills of Judea, tell the same story. 
A multitude of the heavenly host, who at creation’s morn 
shouted for joy, and who had long been tracing the pur¬ 
poses of God in the crimson stream (1 Pet. 1:12), now 
sing in the language of earth to wondering shepherds the 
far sweeter strains of a new creation. 

As they peered through the veil of the future, and saw 
millions coming home, “redeemed out of every nation, kin¬ 
dred, tribe, and tongue,” and heard them “singing the 
song of Moses and the Lamb,” there floated out on the 
midnight stillness, “Glory to God in the highest!” And 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


75 


again: Looking down upon our earth, beyond its scenes 
of carnage, into the resplendent glory of the Messiah’s 
reign, when “the mountains,” because of the reign of 
Christ in the soul, “shall break forth into singing, and all 
the trees of the field into clapping their hands; and when 
warriors shall beat their swords into ploughshares and 
their spears into pruning-hooks; and when nations shall 
learn war no more,” they sang, “On earth peace, good-will 
to men.” 

Mark that peculiarly strange and very significant visit 
of the Magi from the far East. (Matt. 2.) Behold, too, 
the divine providence over the Child, manifested in dreams 
and angel visitations, until He is safely housed in the ob¬ 
scure and despised Nazareth! (Matt. 2:23.) 

Thirty years of silence, broken only by a single inci¬ 
dent, but that indicative of His divine mission, slowly pass 
away, and with them have gone the aged Simeon, the hon¬ 
ored Zacharias and Elizabeth, the prophetess Anna, and 
perhaps Joseph, too, leaving Mary to keep all these won¬ 
derful events in her own heart. (Luke 2:51.) The scep¬ 
ter had indeed departed from Judah, the royal staff from 
between his feet (Gen. 49:10; John 18:31), and the dark 
cloud of oppression had once more settled down on the an¬ 
cient people, leaving nothing to comfort them save God 
and prayer. 

But expectation, begotten of the voice of God in Nat¬ 
ure and in the longings of the human heart, strengthened 
by the types and shadows of their sacred religion, and un¬ 
mistakably declared by the Holy Spirit in the prophets 
(1 Pet. 1:9-12), is soon to become a glad reality. 


76 


FOREGLEAMS IN" NATURE 


“Hark! a glad voice the lonely desert cheers: 

‘Prepare the way! A God, a God appears!’ 

‘A God, a God!’ the vocal hills reply, 

The rocks proclaim the approaching Deity.” 

“In those days came John the Baptist,” himself a sub¬ 
ject of prophecy (Isa. 40:3; Mai. 3:1; 4:5-6,) preaching 
in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent ye: for 
the kingdom of heaven is at hand No more popular 
theme was ever presented to a Jewish audience than the 
kingdom of heaven is at hand. Forty centuries had been 
getting ready an audience, and hence we are very natu¬ 
rally introduced to the next scene. Nothing, we venture, 
has ever occurred in the annals of this world to be com¬ 
pared with it, for we read: “Then went out to him all 
Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the regions round about 
Jordan, and were baptized of him in the river of Jordan 
(Mark 1:5), confessing their sins.” (Matt. 3.) It is both 
interesting and apposite at this point to inquire into the 
weight of John’s testimony concerning the Christ. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST, 


77 


IV. 

JOHN’S TESTIMONY TO THE CLAIMS OF JESUS. 

1. In the first place, John was a subject of prophecy. 
As such, he came at the right time (Gen. 49:10; Mai. 
3:1), at the right place (Isa. 40:3), and preached the 
right discourse (Mai. 4:5-6). No other man ever met 
these conditions. Besides, he made the direct claim for 
himself, “I am the voice crying in the wilderness. Prepare 
ye the way of the Lord.” 

2. In the second place, we shall notice the people’s 
estimate of John. We read, “All held John as a prophet.” 
(Matt. 21:26.) They went even farther and “mused in 
their hearts of him whether he were the Christ.” (Luke 
3:15.) Their conception of John is forcibly brought out 
by Jesus in His query to the multitudes, “What went ye 
out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with 
the wind ?” A man to be swayed by popular opinion! 
“But what went ye out for to see ? A man clothed in soft 
raiment ?”—a king! Surely, you would not go into the wil¬ 
derness to see a king! “But what went ye out for to see ? 
A prophet ? Yea , I say unto you, and more than a proph¬ 
et.” (Matt. 11:7-15; 21:23-27; Luke 7:28-30.) 

3. We next notice the rulers’ estimate of John. This 
may be learned from two sources: From the fact of their 
sending a deputation to inquire, “Who art thou?” But 
especially from the forms their query assumes: (a) “Art 
thou the Christ?” (b) “Art thou Elias?” To this he 


78 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


answered, “I am not the Elijah you have taught should 
come.” (1 Kings 18:21-46.) But he was the Elijah that 
was to come. (Matt. 16:10.) (c) “Art thou that proph¬ 

et?” (Deut. 18:15-18.) A negative answer being given, 
they next inquired, “What sayest thou of thyself ? that we 
may give an answer to them that sent us.” The answer 
being given in the language of prophecy (Isa. 40:3), they 
present their final query, ( d ) “Why baptizest thou, then, 
if thou be not the Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet ?” 
(John 1:19-27.) 

No ordinary man ever called forth such queries from 
such a learned body of men! It is just as clear, too, that 
John was the originator under God (John 1:33) of “the 
baptism of repentance for the remission of sins”; was the 
one who should, by his preaching, baptizing, and teach¬ 
ing, prepare a people for the Lord; was the one through 
whose baptism the Christ should be manifested unto Is¬ 
rael. (John 1:31.) 

This estimate appears evident, in the second place, from 
the use Jesus made of that visit in an argument with the 
skeptical Jews in support of His claims. We give it in 
substance: “If I alone testify of Myself, then My testi¬ 
mony ought not to be believed by you. But another has 
testified of Me, and I know that ye ought to believe him; 
for so great was John, yourselves being judges, that ye sent 
unto him to inquire if he were the Christ, or the Elijah 
whom ye have taught should come, or that prophet whom 
Moses said should come and who must be heard by you 
upon the penalty of your being cut off from Israel.” 
(Deut. 18:15-18; John 8:24.) John testified to the truth. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


79 


He said, “Nay, I am not the Christ. I am not Elijah: 
neither am I that prophet. But,” said he, “I am the voice 
crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” 
He made the direct claim also of being sent of God to bap¬ 
tize in water (John 1:33), and stated the great purpose 
of his baptizing to be that the Christ should be manifested 
unto Israel. (John 1:31.) This is he of whom it is writ¬ 
ten, “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall pre¬ 
pare the way before Me.” The reader will note that the 
Christ should be manifested unto Israel in baptism at the 
hands of John. 

4. The final testimony of John to the claims of Jesus. 
Having shown our witness to be a subject of prophecy; 
having shown him to be, in the estimation of the people, 
a prophet; having shown his remarkable influence in re¬ 
forming Israel; and, finally, that the rulers themselves had 
formed such an exalted opinion of him that they sent a 
deputation to inquire if he were the Christ—we shall let 
John testify in the case. 

Jesus and John were baptizing, the one in Judea and 
the other in iEnon, near to Salim, and the people came 
and were baptized of them. (John 3:22; 4:1-2.) The 
proximity of the two great teachers furnished, no doubt, 
the occasion for a dispute between a Jew and some of 
John’s disciples concerning the relative merits of the two 
baptisms. The Jew argued the superiority of the claims 
of Jesus over that of John, saying, “All men are coming to 
Jesus ” This filled John's disciples with jealousy on ac¬ 
count of their master’s waning influence, and hence they 
came to him in their defeat. 


80 


EOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


How noble the spirit and the reply of John! We give 
it in substance:—No man can receive lasting honor ex¬ 
cept it be given him from heaven. Ye yourselves will bear 
me witness that I said, I am not the Christ. I plainly de¬ 
clared that I am only sent before Him, and am not wor¬ 
thy even to loosen the sandals from His feet. I am but 
the voice, crying, Prepare ye the way of the Lord! True, 
I baptize in water as commanded of God (John 1:33; Acts 
19:1-4), but He shall baptize you in the Holy Spirit. 
Before His manifestation, I knew Him not (Luke 1:80; 
Matt. 11:27), but He that sent me to baptize, the same 
gave me a sign of recognition, saying, “Upon whom thou 
shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on Him, the 
same is He that baptizeth in the Holy Spirit/ 7 And I saw 
the promised sign, and, lo! 1 heard a voice from heaven 
say, “This is My beloved Son/ 7 (Matt. 11:27.) And 
then 1 hare record to you, my disciples, that this Jesus is 
the Son of God. And again, you will remember that I 
pointed to Him as the Lamb of God that taketh away the 
sin of the world. I am truly glad that I have not been 
mistaken, for the King has indeed come. He is the Bride¬ 
groom and I am His friend. This, my joy, therefore, is 
full, in that I hear His voice in your very favorable report 
of .Him. He must increase, as the rising sun, but I must 
decrease, as the waning moon. He is from above, and is 
therefore above all earthly teachers. (John 3:22-32.) 

5. As a fitting close to John’s testimony, we give that 
of his disciples. After John’s death, “Jesus came into the 
place where John at first baptized.” This afforded John’s 
disciples an opportunity for seeing Christ and of testing 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


81 


the statements of John concerning the Christ. “Many re¬ 
sorted to Him and said, John did no miracle, but all things 
John spake of this man are true. And many believed on 
Him there.” (John 10:41-42.) The prophetic character 
of John is here plainly declared; the miraculous power 
of Jesus is clearly implied; and that Jesus is the Christ 
is fully conceded by the “many who believed on Him 
there.” 


82 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


y. 

THE FATHER’S TESTIMONY CONCERNING 
JESUS. 

“The Father himself/’ said Jesus, “hath borne witness 
of Me.” (John 5.) “No man knew the Son but the Fa¬ 
ther/’ and hence the Father alone could reveal the Son. 
(Matt. 11:27.) John did not know Him prior to that rev¬ 
elation. There could have been no collusion between John 
and the Christ. We have no account that John ever at¬ 
tended the great festivals of the Jews, or had ever met 
Christ in person prior to the baptism. We have good 
grounds for believing that he did neither. “He was in the 
deserts till the day of his showing forth unto Israel.” 
(Luke 1:80.) 

We have already presented, so to speak, one part of the 
colossal base of God’s mountain-range of testimony to the 
claims of Jesus. We now invite attention to a few occa¬ 
sions where this testimony, like mountain-peaks, becomes 
especially prominent, as at His baptism; at the transfig¬ 
uration; at the crucifixion; at the ascension; and at the 
coronation, as evidenced in the sending of the Holy Spirit 
on the first Pentecost after His death. We need to refer 
but briefly to some of these. We begin with His baptism, 
in which the Christ, as revealed to John, should be mani¬ 
fested unto Israel. (John 1:31.) 

Days, weeks, and months had passed away since the 
VQice in the wilderness began to call men to repentance, 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


83 


and the ministry of John was rapidly drawing to a close. 
Daily the forerunner had proclaimed to an expectant peo¬ 
ple, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He had even 
declared that the King was already standing in their 
midst, and would soon be manifested unto them. (Bead 
John 1:31-34.) But as the days slowly passed away, and 
no King came, how anxiously must the prophet have await¬ 
ed His coming! With what restless expectancy and anxi¬ 
ety must the people have assembled daily in hope of see¬ 
ing Him “who should deliver them from all their ene¬ 
mies”! (Luke 2.) 

But in due time (Luke 3 :21) Jesus laid aside forever 
His carpenter tools and walked sixty-five miles, from Gal¬ 
ilee to Jordan, unto John, to be baptized of him, in order 
to be manifested, unto Israel. John knew Him not, he tells 
us, and yet there must have been something to suggest to 
him the greatness of Jesus. Possibly His innocent look 
and purity of heart, His holy purpose and heavenly mien, 
and the consciousness of His divine mission beaming from 
His eyes, were sufficient. But, be that as it may, we read: 
“John forbade Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of 
Thee, and comest Thou to me?” Jesus removes this objec¬ 
tion, saying, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becom- 
eth us [you to baptize and I to be baptized] to fulfill all 
righteousness” God had commanded; and the spirit of 
obedience yielded submission; and in that submission to 
the divine will, the Christ was manifested unto Israel. 
“The heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spir¬ 
it of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him: 
and, lo, a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved 


84 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3.) John evi¬ 
dently saw the open heavens and the descending Spirit, 
and also heard the voice. “I saiv ” said he, “and bare rec¬ 
ord that this is the Son of God (John 1:34.) The peo¬ 
ple present evidently saw and heard, for the Christ was to 
be manifested unto Israel in His baptism (John 1:31), 
and there is nothing to suggest that they could not have 
seen and heard this divine testimony. (Acts 10:37.) In 
the deeper sense of understanding they did not see nor 
hear. (See John 8:43.) Besides, Jesus alleges before the 
skeptical Jews these very facts in support of His claims. 
He urges that their rejection of Him in the face of the 
testimony given is proof of their stubborn and reprobate 
wills. (John 5.) He distinguishes the Father’s testi¬ 
mony from that afforded by the “works which the Father 
had sent Him to finish,” and from “the works He was then 
doing.” He urges that the Father’s testimony affords rea¬ 
sonable and sufficient grounds for belief in Him as the 
sent of the Father. But this testimony, to be in point, 
must have been public and addressed to them, or to some of 
their number. This confines the testimony of the Father 
here referred to, to that given at His baptism. (Acts 
10:37.) 

Just here it may be asked, If the evidence was so clear 
in Christ’s favor, why did the Jews crucify Him? 

To this query we answer: The evidence was only part¬ 
ly presented before the deed was done. The best evidence 
was yet to be given—viz., His death, with its attend¬ 
ant phenomena; His resurrection, with its unmistakable 
proofs; His ascension in open daylight; His coronation, as 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


85 


evidenced by the coming of the Holy Spirit in His name; 
and His power after His ascension, as evidenced by signs 
and wonders wrought by His apostles in His name. 

In the second place, they did it through ignorance. 
(Acts 3:17.) But their ignorance was no excuse for the 
deed. (John 15:22-24.) Their ignorance grew out of 
their unwillingness to do God’s will. (John 7:17.) This 
placed them under the dominion, of the flesh and fleshly 
ideas. These ideas forever oppose the spiritual. Let us 
now reason upon this important query for a brief space: 

Fundamental ideas control one’s belief and conduct. 
Such ideas, if false, yet believed to be true, exclude all 
opposing true ideas from the mind. But if these false and 
fundamental notions pertain to religion, involving, as 
they do, the conscience and the eternal destiny of man, 
they war to the death every opposing fundamental idea. 
Opposing ideas can no more dwell in the same mind at 
the same time than can two solids occupy the same space 
at the same instant. 

Now the Jews, for the reasons above stated, held to 
certain false , but to them true and fundamental , notions 
concerning religion, and especially of the Messiah’s king¬ 
dom. Of these we mention the following: 

1. The Messiah will be an earthly king, and will 
reign in Jerusalem. (Bead Luke 17:20; Matt. 16:16-23; 
Mark 9:10; Matt. 20:20-28; Acts 1:6.) 

2. He will establish His kingdom by force. (Read 
Matt. 11:2; John 6:15.) 

3. All of Abraham’s fleshly heirs, by virtue of their 
being such, shall be subjects of the Messiah’s kingdom. 
(Read Matt. 3:9; John 3:3-7.) 


86 


EOREGLEAMS IX XATURE 


4. The Law of Moses shall be of perpetual obligation, 
and hence the law of the Messiah’s kingdom. (Eead Matt. 
26:61; John 9:28-29; Matt. 27:40; Acts 6:13-14.) 

5. The Sabbath is of perpetual obligation, and must 
be observed as the rabbis have taught; and any departure 
from that teaching must be considered as heresy and sub¬ 
jecting the offender to the penalty of death. (Read John 
9:16; 5:16. Contrast with 2 Cor. 3:6-ll.) 

6. It is positively sinful for one to associate with pub¬ 
licans and sinners. This and such like teaching—all of 
which opposed and excluded from their minds the true con¬ 
ception of Christ and His kingdom, tended toward His 
death. So much for ignorance and prejudice. 

But when Jesus began to rebuke their leaders for their 
hypocrisy; and when He, by parable and comparison, 
showed their rebellion against G-od; and when the com¬ 
mon people, on account of His miracles and teachings, be¬ 
gan to say, “We never saw it on this fashion,” “Never man 
spake like this man”; but especially when the multitudes 
turned from the rabbis unto Christ,—the envy of the lead¬ 
ers knew no bounds, and they decided that, in order “to 
save their place and nation,” the Nazarene must die. They 
closed their eyes to the light lest they should see. They 
stopped their ears lest they should hear the truth. And 
then, in their deafness and blindness and ignorance, they 
boldly affirmed —We see! we know! It is a law in Nature 
that “like begets like,” “everything after his kind.” So, 
too, love begets love: friendship begets friendship: faith 
begets faith: lying begets lying: hate begets hate. Like 
perceives like: purity perceives purity: impurity perceives 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


87 


impurity: the sensual reads the sensual: the spiritual reads 
the spiritual: “wisdom is justified of her children”: the 
“single eye” perceives the spiritual light: the born from 
above alone can see the kingdom of God. “Wicked men and 
deceivers wax worse and worse, deceiving and being de¬ 
ceived” ; and thus they close their eyes and stop their ears 
to the truth and ultimately reach a point when they think 
they are doing God service in taking the lives of His peo¬ 
ple: “but these things will they do because they have not 
known the Father nor Me.” (John 16:1-3.) 

On this very occasion they refused to see the power of 
God manifested in Christ's healing the impotent man at 
the pool, “because He had done these things on the Sab¬ 
bath day.” How very appropriately Jesus could say to 
such religious skeptics and bigots, “The Father himself 
hath borne witness of Me” in the opened heavens, and in 
the descnding Spirit, and in the audible confession from 
heaven: “but ye never heard His voice at any time, nor 
saw His shape! And ye have not His love abiding in you; 
for whom He hath sent,” clothed with divine power in the 
very midst of you, “Him ye believe not.” If God were 
now to speak, some people would say, “It thundered.” But 
of this witness later. (Read Matt. 23:13-33; 21:28-46; 
Luke 18:9-14; John 11:47-53; 12:19.) 


88 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


VI. 

THE TESTIMONY OF HIS WOKKS. 

“The works which the Father hath sent Me to finish 
[Lnke 4:18-22], the same works that I do bear witness of 
Me that the Father hath sent Me/ 5 (John 5.) It will be 
seen that the argument here naturally divides into two 
parts: first , the general trend of events looking to the 
completion of redemption; second, the ever-present works 
of Jesus in the living witnesses and their influence upon 
contemporaries. In the language of A. Campbell: 

“Having thus introduced Him with these high com¬ 
mendations, with these credentials from earth and heaven, 
His own deeds are permitted to speak for Him. All Nat¬ 
ure, then, owns Him universal Lord. His hand is never 
stretched forth but its benign and beneficent power is dis¬ 
played and felt. His lips are ever teeming with grace and 
troth. Not only does the race of living men amongst 
whom He is reckoned feel and attest His omnipotence; not 
only do the air, the earth, and the sea lay their respective 
tributes at His feet: but even the dead and the spirits of 
the dead of times past and present, both good and evil, 
come and own Him Lord of all. Strange assemblage of 
evidence! Unparalleled concurrence of things human and 
divine, of things animate and inanimate, of things above 
and things beneath, of all ranks and orders of intelligences, 
both good and evil, of the whole universe in confirmation 
of His pretensions!” 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


89 


We are concerned at present only with the latter part 
of the argument. To the skeptical Jew, standing in the 
very presence of divine power, manifested in the healing 
of the impotent man, Jesus says, “The same works that 1 
do bear witness of Me.” In answer to the sad query of the 
imprisoned forerunner, Jesus replies, “Go and show John 
again those things which ye do hear and see: the blind re¬ 
ceive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed 
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor 
have the Gospel preached unto them.” And as a word of 
warning and consolation, He adds, “Blessed is he whoso¬ 
ever shall not be offended in Me.” (Matt. 11:5; Luke 7: 
21.) As age upon age shall roll on, ti\\ time shall be na 
more, and men demand proof of His divine mission, Jesus 
answers in the living present, “The same works that I do' 
bear witness of Me that the Father hath sent Me.” 'Twill 
be the same old but ever new story, “Call His name Jesus: 
for He shall save His people from their sins.” Men and 
women redeemed, saved from their sins through Him, are 
the living, abiding, the ever-present and unimpeachable 
witnesses that 

“The Father sent His Son into the world to save sin¬ 
ners” as well as to heal men of their physical diseases. 

I. THE GENERAL CLAIMS. 

Jesus claims to have done among the people works that 
none other had ever done. (John 15:22-24.) 

Matthew testifies: “He went about teaching and 
preaching, and healing all manner of sicknesses and dis¬ 
eases among the people.” (Matt. 9:35.) 


90 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, said: “Rabbi, we 
know that Thou art a teacher come from God: for no man 
can do these miracles that Thou doest except God be with 
him.” (John 3:2.) 

John the Apostle testifies: “Many other signs truly 
did Jesus in the presence of His disciples which are not 
written in this book: but these are written that ye might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that 
believing, ye might have life through His name.” (John 
20:30-31.) 

Peter , in his address before a Roman official and his 
household, testifies: “Ye know how God anointed Jesus 
of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who 
went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed 
with the devil: for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:36-39.) 
Roman officials arrested Him and a Roman governor sen¬ 
tenced Him; Roman soldiers crucified Him and a Roman 
centurion confessed Him; Roman soldiers sat down at the 
foot of the cross, parted His garments among them, and 
for His seamless coat they cast lots; Roman soldiers kept 
guard at His tomb, saw the angel descend and roll away 
the stone, and were the first to proclaim His resurrection 
to the Sanhedrin. No wonder Peter could say, “Ye know.” 

Paul , in his defense before King Agrippa, testifies con¬ 
cerning the ground of Israel’s hope: “Why should it be 
thought a thing incredible with you that God should raise 
the dead?” Again: “I am not mad, most noble Festus, 
but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. For 
the king knoweth of these things, before whom I also speak 
freely: for I am persuaded that none of these things are 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


91 


hidden from him: for this thing” — i. e., the resurrection 
—“was not done in a corner” (Acts 26.) 

II. THE SPECIFIC CLAIMS. 

It is not necessary to make an extended list. A few 
must suffice. 

I. We begin with the healing of the paralytic at 
Capernaum. 

The difficulty in presenting the sick for healing; the 
presence of doctors of the law from every town in Galilee 
and from Jerusalem and Judea; and His claim to Have 
forgiven the sins of the paralytic, which called forth the 
charge of blasphemy; and the testimony of the people on 
seeing the miracle—each and all conspire to make fraud 
impossible. 

In reply to the charge of blasphemy, Jesus showed that 
God would not empower a blasphemer to perform mira¬ 
cles. (Compare Mark 9 :39; John 14:17; Acts 19 :13-17.) 
“But,” said He, “that ye may know that the Son of Man 
hath power on earth to forgive sins” (and was therefore 
not a blasphemer, of which claim He gave tangible, perti¬ 
nent and conclusive proof). “I say to the sick of the palsy, 
Arise, take up thy bed and go into thine house.” And he 
arose and departed into his house. “The multitude saw; 
and they marveled, and glorified God who had given sucli 
power unto men.” 

This miracle was not done in a corner, nor in the dim 
light of a lamp, nor in the presence of a few friends only; 
but in the open sunlight of God, and in the presence of a 
host of competent witnesses, enemies as well as friends. 


92 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


His enemies were compelled to admit the miracle. By 
what power, then, was it wrought? The answer was. 
Either by the Spirit of God or by Satanic agency. If the 
former, then the kingdom of God had come; but if the lat¬ 
ter, Jesus w T as an impostor and in league with Satan. 
From their standpoint, Jesus could not be divine; hence, 
on a later occasion, they chose the latter alternative. Jesus 
reduced their claim to an absurdity by showing that any 
house or city or kingdom divided against itself could not 
stand. “If I cast out demons by Satanic agency, then 
Satan’s kingdom is divided against itself and must fall.” 
But again: “No man can enter a strong man’s house and 
spoil his goods unless he first bind the strong man.” The 
fact, then, that I am destroying the power of Satan over 
those possessed of demons is proof that I am really bind¬ 
ing the strong man and not in league with him.” And 
again: “If I, by Beelzebub, cast out demons, by whom 
do 3 T our children cast them out? Your defense of them 
will be Mine own.” 

Jesus now turns upon his enemies, so lost to all sense 
of honor and reverence for God as to attribute to Satanic 
agency the kind, compassionate, and wonderful acts of the 
Holy Spirit, and charges them with blaspheming against 
the Holy Spirit, for which there is no forgiveness. (Matt. 
9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12; Luke 5:17-26.) 

II. Jesus the Light of the world. 

There were no asylums for the blind nor hospitals for 
the lame till Jesus came. The subject of this paragraph 
had been blind from birth, and, as was the custom of such, 
he frequented public places, where he “sat and begged” for 



OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


93 


alms. Jesus was in the Temple teaching, and had made 
the remarkable statement, “Before Abraham was, I am.” 
(John 8:58.) The Jews sought to kill Him for blasphe¬ 
my; but Jesus, going through the midst of them, passed 
out of the Temple. And as He was passing by, He saw 
this man, and said, “As long as I am in the world I am 
the light of the world.” Making some clay of spittle, He 
anointed the man’s eyes with it, and said, “Go wash in 
the pool of Siloam.” The man did so, and came seeing. 
Imagine the joy of that first sight into the beauties of 
Nature! “Out of darkness into light!” (Coloss. 1:13.) 
This is a beautiful foregleam of one’s translation out of 
the kingdom of spiritual darkness into the kingdom of His 
dear Son. The blind man was willing to do as “a man 
called Jesus” directed (9:11), and he came seeing. His 
conception of “that man called Jesus” enlarged, and he 
says of Him, “He is a prophet.” (9:17.) After being 
cast out of the synagogue for claiming so much, he obtains 
a new view of “the man called Jesus,” and believes on Him 
as the Son of God. (9:35-38.) This development is par¬ 
alleled in the conversation of the woman of Samaria at 
Jacob’s well. First He was only “a Jew,” then a “proph¬ 
et,” and lastly “the Christ.” The growth of the concep¬ 
tion of His apostles is the same; and we feel safe in say¬ 
ing that no Christian’s conception is matured till it rec¬ 
ognizes Him as the Son of God. 

We again note that the circumstances exclude fraud in 
this case. The neighbors, the parents, and the man all 
testify to his blindness from birth. These now know that 
he has been made to see. The man, being brought to the 


94 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


Pharisees, related what he did at the command of Jesus, 
and that he came seeing. Some of the Pharisees, admit¬ 
ting the miracle, said, “This man is not of God, because He 
keepeth not the Sabbath; but others said, How can a man 
that is a sinner do such miracles?” 

We next are favored with an official investigation by 
“the Jews”—the experts. These began by denying the fact 
of his previous blindness, thus admitting his ability now 
to see. They call the parents to testify. How, reader, re¬ 
member that the decree had already gone forth, if any did 
confess Jesus as the Christ, he must be put out of the syn¬ 
agogue. (John 9:22.) 

The parents are now before this authoritative body. 
This would naturally fill them with fear. Besides, the 
question was so put as to virtually deny their affirmation 
in advance. (9:19-21.) But the answer was clear and 
decisive: “We know that this is our son, and that he was 
born blind; but by what means he now sees, or who hath 
opened his eyes, we know not. He is of age. Ask him.” 

The Jews then exhorted the man, “Give God the glory; 
for we know that this man is a sinner.” They had learned 
a lesson from the reply to their charge of blasphemy. In 
this case they could not deny the miracle, but with an air 
of piety they sought to rob Jesus of the honor. “Give God 
the glory; this man is a sinner.” The man replies in part: 
“One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see” 
“Since the world began such a miracle has not been 
wrought upon one born blind.” “If this man were not of 
God,” continued the witness, “He could do nothing.” 
“And they cast him out of the synagogue.” (John 9.) 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


95 


One sheep had dared to hear the True Shepherd’s voice. 
The parable of the sheep-fold grows out of this bit of his¬ 
tory, and is intended to teach, among other things, tfrat 
those self-constituted pastors who rejected the Good Shep¬ 
herd were in fact but thieves and robbers, and the sheep 
would not hear them. The miracle and the teaching stand 
or fall together. 

III. Waiting for the Angel of the Pool. 

Within the sacred city, in the long ago, a crystal stream 
at times came gushing forth into the still waters of a 
very beautiful pool. The comings of this stream set all 
the waters of the pool into motion. 

The people of that day believed that an angel at such 
times came down and troubled the waters, so that the first 
one to step into the pool after the moving of the water was 
made whole and well. For this reason many people came 
to be healed. 

The good people of the city built around this pool five 
porches, in which the sick might remain while waiting for 
the angel to move the water. On one occasion a great 
multitude of helpless people—some blind, some halt, and 
others still with withered limbs—lay in these porches, 
waiting, watching, and longing for the angel to come, each 
hoping to be the first to enter the pool. What a scene! 
Among that number was one who had long waited, only 
to see others more able than he step into the water before 
him. His hope for healing centered solely on the troubled 
waters, but he was unable to reach them in time. How 
sad his lot! Unable to enter the healing waters, and no 
kind friend to assist him! 


96 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


A stranger drew near. His pure blue eyes gave a look 
of tenderness as he gently inquired, “Wilt thou be made 
whole?” “Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled 
to put me into the pool, but while I am coming another 
steps down before me.” With majestic mien and in words 
of power, the stranger again speaks, “Rise, take up thy bed 
and walk.” Instantly the vital forces were at work and 
the man sprang to his feet. A stream of life poured 
through his once withered limbs. The stranger, unob¬ 
served, had quietly withdrawn. The pool was silent as the 
grave , but the man was made whole. With joyful heart he 
took up his bed and hastened home. But it was the Sab¬ 
bath, and the Jews forbade him to carry his bed. The 
man justifies himself by quoting that greater yet unknown 
authority. Shortly after we find him in the Temple. The 
stranger once more appears, and said, “Behold, thou art 
made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto 
thee.” The man departed and told the Jews that it was 
Jesus which had made him whole. “The Jews then sought 
to slay Jesus, because He had done these things on the 
Sabbath day.” (John 5.) It is as clear as light that belief 
in angel visitations and in the virtue of the troubled wa¬ 
ters had nothing whatever to do with this healing: for the 
angel did not come and the waters were not troubled in 
this case; and besides, the man was on the verge of de¬ 
spair because someone else always stepped into the water 
before him. Neither “intense expectation” nor “ideal sug¬ 
gestion” will solve this healing: for the steps are plainly 
the command, the instantaneous healing, followed by the 
effort of taking up his bed and walking homeward. IJe 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


97 


did not know his healer at the time (5:13), but after¬ 
ward learned that it was Jesus (5:14-15). The notion 
that faith on the part of man must precede healing, al¬ 
though generally true, is unsupported by the record. 

Sin is the source of all disease, so that no better hygi¬ 
enic advice was ever given than that here pointed out, Sin 
no more. We may visit the pools and await the angels, 
may take Nature’s remedies as prescribed by learned phys¬ 
icians, but unless we heed the divine prescription, there is, 
there can be, for us, no such thing as health. Jesus saves 
His people from their sins. 

IV. The Resurrection of Lazarus. 

This touching scene occurred at Bethany, nigh unto 
Jerusalem. An only brother and two devoted sisters had 
been separated by death. Jesus, on account of persecu¬ 
tion, was far away (John 19:40-42), but had been called 
in these sad yet hopeful words, “He whom Thou lovest is 
sick.” The Master replies, “This sickness is not unto 
death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might 
be glorified thereby.” 

After two days Lazarus fell asleep, and Jesus said: 
“Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, and I go to wake him out of 
sleep.” His disciples reply in substance: Lord, if he 
sleeps, he shall recover. But Lazarus was asleep in death. 
(John 11:13-14.) 

Many Jews came from Jerusalem to comfort the be¬ 
reaved sisters. As Jesus approached Bethany, Martha went 
out to meet Him, and broke the sad news, saying, “Lord, 
if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” In 
answer to*her yearning faith (11:22), Jesus replied; “Thy 


98 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


brother shall rise again.” Her seeming doubt of a pres¬ 
ent resurrection called forth these immortal words: “I 
am the resurrection and the life “Go call thy sister.” 
Mary came forth to meet tfie Master, being followed by 
the Jews, who comforted her. The same sad words, “Lord, 
if Thou hadst been here,” fell from her lips. “Jesus wept.” 

Coming to the grave. He thanked the Father for hav¬ 
ing heard Him. “I knew,” said He, “that Thou hearest 
Me always: but because of the people that stand by I said 
it, that they may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” And 
when He had thus spoken, He cried in a loud voice, “Laz¬ 
arus, come forth!” “And he that was dead came forth, 
bound hand and foot with grave-clothes.” Jesus said unto 
them, “Loose him and let him go.” (John 5 :25-29.) In the 
proper place we shall show that expectation did not create 
a single vision, and hence that the power of dominant 
ideas did not originate a single grand fact of the gospel. 
The facts were opposed to all the dreams and the hopes 
and the visions of Israel and of the apostles. 

LAZARUS AS A WITNESS. 

Many of the Jews which had seen the things which 
Jesus did believed on Him. (11:45.) Some went to the 
Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. The chief 
priests and the Pharisees called a council to determine 
what course to pursue in order to counteract His influence. 
“What do we ? for this man doeth many miracles.” Then, 
through ignorance of His real character and of the nature 
of His kingdom, they falsely assumed Him to be a moyer 
of sedition against the Romans, and hence concluded, *Tf 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


99 


we let Him thus alone, all men will believe on Him, and 
the Romans,” being more powerful than we, “shall come 
and take away our place and nation.” To save their place 
and nation was the burden of this council. (Read Deut. 
18 :15-18.) Prompt action must be taken, or all would be 
lost. (Luke 19 :41-44.) 

THE PURPOSE OF THE RULERS. 

Caiaphas, the high priest, gave the determining speech 
on that occasion: “Ye know nothing at all, nor consider 
that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the 
people, and that the whole nation perish not.” “Friom 
that day forth they took counsel to put Him to death.” 
(John 11:49-53.) 


NEW EVIDENCE. 

A few days later a supper was given at Bethany in 
honor of Jesus, and many Jews came not only for Jesus’ 
sake, but that they might see Lazarus also. The result 
was, “many Jews went away and believed on Jesus.” The 
chief priests then consulted to put Lazarus to death also. 
(John 12:10; 12:1-8; Matt. 26:6-15; Mark 14:3-11.) 

JESUS’ POPULARITY. 

On the next day (12:12) Jesus made His triumphal 
march into Jerusalem. (Zech. 9:9.) The eye-witnesses 
of the resurrection of Lazarus had testified to the fact 
(11:46), and those who saw Lazarus at the supper Had 
also testified, with the result that much people that 
were come to the feast^ w'heu they heard that Jesus was 
L. of C. 


100 


FOREGLE 4MS IN’ NATURE 


coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm-trees and 
went forth to meet Him. (John 12:12-13; Matt. 26: 
8-9.) “The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, 
Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? Behold, the world is 
gone after Him!” (12:19.) 

A little farther on w r e learn that “among the chief rul¬ 
ers also many believed on Him, but because of the Phari¬ 
sees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out 
of the synagogue.” (John 12 :42-43; 19 :38-42; Acts 6:7.) 

COUNCIL FOR EXECUTION. 

A council for the execution of plans was now held. 
(Matt. 26:3-5.) He must be taken by subtilty, lest there 
should be an uprising of the people in His favor. The 
rulers now issued imperative orders that if any man knew 
where He was of nights, he must make it known. But 
all their plans failed till Judas, one of the twelve, during 
the Passover meal, and just preceding the institution of 
the Lord’s Supper, on receiving the sop (John 13:26), 
went immediately out into the night (13:30) to accept 
their offer of thirty pieces of silver, made a few days pre¬ 
vious, and to betray his Master with a kiss. (Matt. 26: 
14-16.) 

THE ARREST AND TRIAL. 

The arrest was made in the night, and in the night 
they condemned the man of prayer as a blasphemer. 
(Matt. 26. 36-46; John 18:1-9.) Early in the next morn¬ 
ing the chief priests and elders took counsel how to put 
Him to death. (Matt. 27 :l-2.) Pilate’s consent must be 
}iad—their sentence must be ratified. The scepter had do* 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


101 


parted from Judah. (Gen. 49:10.) Failing in this first 
move, they then allege Him to be a mover of sedition 
against the Romans—a rival of Caesar. But both Herod 
and Pontius Pilate declared Him innocent of the charge. 
The next move touched Pilate’s throne. “If thou let this 
man go, thoii art not Caesar’s friend.” Pilate now placed 
before them, according to custom, two prisoners—Jesus 
and Barabbas, who was in fact a mover of sedition and a 
murderer. This would test their loyalty to Caesar and the 
sincerity of their charge. “Whom will ye that I release, 
Jesus or Barabbas ?” They cried, “Barabbas! Barabbas!” 
Defeated at this point, and knowing that for envy they 
had delivered Him, Pilate, in order to appeal to human 
sympathy and to gratify the envy of the rulers, scourged 
Jesus and led Him forth, saying, “Behold the man!” 
(Isa. 52:14.) Instantly with loud voices they cried, 
“Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Why? What evil 
has He done ?” “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” came back 
the answer. “Shall I crucify your Icing V’ “We have 
no king but Caesar.” How true! The centuries echo back 
their answer—no king but Caesar! Pilate saw that fur¬ 
ther effort was useless—that a tumult was gathering. He 
washed his hands before them, saying, “I am innocent of 
the blood of this just person.” The answer came back, 
“His blood be upon us and our children.” (Deut. 18:15- 
18.) “Take ye Him and crucify Him; for I find no fault 
in Him.” Why did Pilate consent? 

THE MOTIVES. 

On the part of the Jews His death was an expedient to 
save their place and nation. On the part of Pilate it was 


102 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


an unpremeditated, almost necessary, choice between the 
shedding of the blood of many and that of one just man. 
Very probably Pilate saw his own throne tottering under 
him, as well he might, if he should refuse their demands. 
But his question will go down through the ages, “What 
shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ?” 
(Matt. 27:22.) 


THE WORLD REPRESENTED. 

Jew and Gentile met at the cross of Christ. The whole 
world was represented in that officiatory act. In a deeper 
sense they afterward should meet around the cross. In a 
deeper sense than Caiaphas foresaw, Jesus died not for 
that nation only, but for the whole world—“He tasted 
death for every man.” He died not for Barabbas alone. 
He died not to save Pilate’s throne. He died not merely 
“to save their place and nation.” But “He died, the just 
for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God.” His 
death was in order to His resurrection as the federal Head 
of the race. “He was delivered for our offenses, and rose 
for our justification.” His resurrection as our federal 
Head insures, and hence justifies, our resurrection from 
the grave. 

“Jesus knew no sin: neither was guile found in His 
mouth.” “Which of you convinceth Me of sin?” He did 
not die, then, because He had sinned. 

“Ho man,” said He, “taketh My life from Me?’ “I lay 
it down of Myself.” (John 10:18.) This accords with His 
claim to have lived with the Father before the world was 


OP REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


103 


(John 1:1; Heb. 1:2-10), and with the wonderful facts 
of His life on earth. He must, therefore, have died 
willingly. 

But there must have been a purpose in His death. If 
Jesus be the express image of God’s person; if His words 
be the form of God’s thoughts; if His miracles be the man¬ 
ifestations of God’s power,—then His tears are the revela¬ 
tions of God’s pity; His prayer on the cross, of God’s will¬ 
ingness to forgive; and His suffering and death, of God’s 
wonderful love and of the exceeding sinfulness of man. 
“Jesus died far our sins, according to the Scriptures.” “I 
lay down My life for the sheep.” The purpose of His death 
is surely not reached in the resurrection from the dead of 
both good and evil. Hay, we are pushed farther along in 
our investigation. It must have been to effect a great 
moral change in men and women—not merely during this 
short life, but one that entitles such to stand justified in the 
presence of God. “He died for our sins, according to the 
Scriptures”—“to save us from our sins”—“that He might 
bring us unto God.” “Christ in you the hope of glory,” 
says Paul. The death of Jesus is the basis of extended 
mercy through faith that works by love, effecting a change 
of purpose, followed by a change of life—“the Christ in 
you the hope of glory.” 

THE WORLD GUILTY. 

Every sin of which the race is now guilty uttered its 
voice in that cry, “Crucify him !” The actors in that scent 
on Cavalry not only represented the nations, but they rep¬ 
resented the crimes of the world till the end of time. Dis- 


104 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


belief in God would dethrone the Creator of the universe . 
Disbelief in God plunged the whole race into misery. Dis¬ 
belief in God nailed the Son of God to the cross. Disbelief 
in Jesus as the Son of God put to death all His apostles. 
(John 16 :l-3.) Disbelief in Him to-day sneers at His fol¬ 
lowers and runs every institution of iniquity on the face of 
this earth. And when we, through neglect, disbelief, and 
disobedience to Christ, indorse that murder, we become 
equally guilty with the murderers of Jesus. The question, 
“What shall I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ ?” 
is intensely personal. Before the bar of eternal justice we 
cannot shift the guilt of murder to the Jews and Romans. 
Our sins helped to nail Him to the cross, and the only way 
to rid ourselves of guilt is to believe in Jesus Christ and 
obey Him. He demands a whole life in service to God. 
“He that disbelieveth shall be condemned.” (Mark 16 :15- 
16.) Disbelief in Jesus nailed Him to the cross; disbelief 
in Him to-day indorses that act and takes its stand with 
Judas, Pontius Pilate, and all who clamored, “His blood 
be upon us and our children.” In rejecting Christ the Jews 
cut themselves off from the true Israel of God. (Deut. 18: 
15-18.) Their doctrine of expediency went down in 70 
A. D. It is to be hoped that the reader, standing in the 
light of nineteen centuries of Christ’s rule, will not repeat 
their consummate folly. 

A SEEMING TRIUMPH. 

His enemies seemed to have triumphed. His friends, 
unsuspecting and outwitted, stood helpless in the presence 
of the mob and brutal Roman soldiers. They did not for- 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


105 


get Him. No one that had been the recipient of his favors 
ever cried for His blood. That enthusiastic multitude that 
escorted Him to the capital city did not furnish the ma¬ 
terial for the cruel mob. They were not fickle, as they have 
been represented. The arrest was made in the night. The 
trial before the Sanhedrin was held in the night. The sen¬ 
tence before the Roman court was passed early in the morn¬ 
ing, before many friends of Jesus were aware of what was 
being done. It was the hangers-on of a corrupt court and 
a corrupt priesthood that clamored for His blood. Of the 
friends of Jesus, when it was too late to alter the decision, 
we read: “There followed Him to the place of crucifixion 
a great multitude of people, and of women, which also be¬ 
wailed and lamented Him.” (Luke 23:27.) Their only 
defense was the story of His life and tears of sympathy and 
anguish for His suffering and death. We here quote their 
method of conquering the world: “They overcame him 
[that old serpent called the devil and Satan] by the blood 
of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; and they 
loved not their lives unto the death.” (Rev. 12 :11.) 


106 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


VII. 

TESTIMONY AT THE CRUCIFIXION. 

On one occasion the Jews said, "Master, show ns a sign 
from heaven.” It was very appropriate that Jew and Gen¬ 
tile should have a sign from Nature. This was given in 
the darkening of the sun at mid-day, and in the quaking 
of the earth, and in the rending of the rocks, during the 
suffering of Christ. At the time of His bitterest agony 
His enemies mocked and taunted Him, but His only an¬ 
swer was, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what 
they do.” (Isa. 53:12.) Perhaps no miracle Jesus ever 
wrought surpassed this miracle of prayer. And when the 
centurion saw these things, and witnessed the wonderful 
behavior of Jesus on the cross toward Ilis enemies, he ex¬ 
claimed, "Truly, this was the Son of God.” A sublime 
faith now took possession of the thief on the cross, and he 
requested the dying Nazarene, "Lord, remember me when 
Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” A strange horror seized 
all who came to that sight, and "they smote their breasts 
and returned.” (Luke 23:47-49.) They had their sign 
from heaven. But the chief actors must also have a sign. 

The hour of the evening sacrifice was at hand and the 
sufferings of Jesus were drawing to a close. Suddenly the 
veil that had for centuries separated the Holy from the 
Most Holy Place was rent in two from top to bottom, and 
the priests could now look for the first time through that 
type of Christ’s body into the Most Holy Place, the type 
of heaven. (Heb. 9:24.) 


OF REDEMPTION- IN CHRIST. 


107 


The secret disciples of Jesus, Joseph and Nicodemus, 
now came forth and begged of Pilate the body of Christ 
and gave it an honorable burial. (John 19 :38-42.) The 
hopes of His disciples were buried in that same tomb of 
Joseph of Arimathea. (Matt. 16:22; Mark 9:9-10; Luke 
24:21; John 20:8-9; 1 Pet. 1:3-5.) 

What a scene before us! Those eyes that ever beamed 
with innocence and purity; those lips that ever teemed with 
grace and truth; that voice that had calmed the angry 
sea and spoken peace to troubled souls; those hands and 
those feet that, till now, were busy in doing good; that 
life that by a touch or a word had healed the paralytic, 
opened eyes blind from birth, and called the dead back to 
their friends—now closed, sealed, silent, motionless, and 
hushed in death! Shall we say, Death ends all ? 

Was He an impostor? Or, will the Mighty 
Sleeper awake? 

The Supreme Court of the Universe is about to pass on 
this momentous question. The counsel for the enemies have 
taken every precaution to prevent deception. A great stone 
lias been rolled to the door of the tomb and the Roman seal 
has been affixed. An armed guard is stationed to keep 
watch. The moon is at its full and Jerusalem filled with 
people come up to the Passover. All night long, by turns, 
the soldiers pace to and fro in front of the tomb in order 
to keep a few timid, broken-hearted, and despairing disci¬ 
ples from stealing the body and proclaiming a resurrection! 
(Matt. 27:62-66.) 

Ho fact of history can be better established than that 


108 


FOREGLEAMS IN' NATURE 


the hopes of His apostles respecting the coming kingdom 
died with His death and were buried in the same grave with 
Him. The Christ of Peter’s confession was not to die. 
(Matt. 16:13-22.) Neither was He to rise from the dead. 
“They wondered what the rising from the dead should 
mean.” (Mark 9:9-10.) When the women on the third 
day reported, “They have taken away the Lord out of the 
sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid Him,” 
Peter and John ran to the sepulcher, and “saw and be¬ 
lieved.” Believed what? The answer is seen in the very 
next words: “for as yet they knew not the scripture that 
He should rise from the dead/' (John 20 :l-9.) When the 
Master, just before His betrayal, sought to comfort His 
disciples, they overlooked His death, and caught but vague 
glimpses of the heavenly mansions beyond. (John 14 :l-3.) 

His death put an end to all their fondest hopes. This 
is no speculation. They could not and did not see beyond. 
The resurrection was never anticipated by them. (Luke 
24:21; 1 Pet. 1:3-5.) 

But other worlds were looking on. The angels who 
sang at His birth, “Glory to God in the highest!” were no 
doubt interested spectators. The underworld of darkness, 
some of whom had cried, “Let us alone. Art Thou come 
hither to torment us before the time?” were interested in 
the decision. (Matt. 8:28.) The saints of all ages past 
awaited that decision with intense anxiety. (Heb. 11:35 ; 
Phs. 3 :10.) The saints of all future ages must rest their 
hopes on that decision. (1 Cor. 15:14-19.) I confess for 
myself an unusual interest in that issue. Jesus said, 
“The gates of hades shall not prevail against it”— i. e.. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


109 


the rock of His Sonship. (Rom. 1:4.) If He rose, so 
will I; for He has said, “Because I live, ye shall live also.” 
But if He rose not, then death to me becomes an eternal 
sleep. Overthrow the doctrine of Christ’s resurrection and 
the abutment for the bridge of immortality falls, and with 
its fall, our hopes become an empty dream. 


no 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


VIII. 

THE ARGUMENT FROM PROPHECY. 

The argument from this source rests upon the veracity 
of God as tested by faith, obedience, and experience for 
sixty centuries. Its strength lies not so much in the indi¬ 
vidual links, as in the combined strength of all. Each link 
in this chain strengthens all preceding links, and also 
supports all succeeding ones. In this chain we note es¬ 
pecially the following, founded upon 

TILE TESTIMONY OF THE SPIRIT OF PROPHECY. 

The Incarnation of Christ. Micah 5:2; Isa. 7 :14; Jer. 
31:22. 

The Miracles of Christ. Isa. 29 :18; 35 :5-6; Matt. 11: 
4-5. 

The Death of Christ. Isa. 53:8; Dan. 9:26. 

The Burial of Christ. Isa. 53 :8-9. 

The Resurrection of Christ. Isa. 53:10; Psa. 16:10; 
Acts 1:3. 

The Ascension of Christ. Psa. 110:1-5; 68:18; Acts 
1:9; Eph. 4:8-13. 

The Coronation of Christ. Psa. 24:3-10; Matt. 19: 
27-28; 22:44; Psa. 110. 

The Reign of Christ. Isa. 53:12; Psa. 45:1-7; Heb. 
1:8-9. 

The resurrection is but one important link in this 

chain, AU up to this* as have seen, came true; and this 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


Ill 


fact establishes the strong probability of the truth of the 
resurrection. Now the part following the resurrection nec¬ 
essarily rests upon the certainty of that alleged event, 
and hence it follows that if a single alleged and essential 
link, in this chain of prophecy concerning the Christ, be 
fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth after His death, the resur¬ 
rection of Jesus becomes a certainty. The fact upon 
which we shall place special emphasis is the reign of Christ. 
“I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He 
shall divide the spoil with the strong.” (Isa. 53:12.) 
The reason given is: “Because He hath poured out His 
soul unto death; and He was numbered with the trans¬ 
gressors; and He bare the sin of many; and made inter¬ 
cession for the transgressors.” The subject of this prophecy 
must rule after His death; must have died with criminals; 
and m,ust have interceded for His enemies. Jesus of Naz¬ 
areth fulfills this prophecy to the letter; no other has met, 
or can meet, the conditions here given. His rule is a fact 
of history and consciousness. 

Our line of proof does not require an extended argu¬ 
ment, at this point, in favor of His resurrection. On the 
morn of the third day after His death , the tomb was 
empty. The guard must give a legal reason for not hold¬ 
ing that body in the tomb. (Acts 12 :1-19; 16 :27.) This 
they hastened to do. They related to the chief priests what 
they saw, felt, and experienced. “An angel,” they said, 
“came down from heaven and rolled away the stone and 
sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his 
raiment as the snow. And for fear of him we did shake 
apd became as dead men,” (Matt. 28:3-4* 11.) This 


112 


EOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


Eoman guard first preached the Gospel of the resurrection, 
And their report is in harmony with the claim that angels 
do visit and minister to man; in harmony with the respon¬ 
sibility felt by the guard on that occasion, either to hold 
that body in the tomb, or to give a legal reason for not 
doing so; and in harmony with the subsequent action of 
the priests in not prosecuting the guard. 

The guard evidently told the truth, and the rulers per¬ 
ceived its weight. It was not expedient for them to hold a 
public investigation, nor to admit the fact outright. But 
by means of large money they persuaded the soldiers to 
say: “His disciples came by night and stole Him away 
while we slept.” Now this story virtually admits the fact 
of the resurrection, while it served the double purpose of 
filling His disciples with fear, arising from the implied 
charge of their breaking the seal; and, when this failed 
to silence them, it served to weaken their testimony con¬ 
cerning the resurrection. The story would of course en¬ 
danger the guard, but the chief priests pledged themselves 
to secure them in case the governor sought to punish them. 
It required “large money” to persuade them to take the 
risk. 

His disciples allege that He rose from the grave ac¬ 
cording to prophecy (Isa. 53:10), and gave to them many 
infallible proofs of the fact. They saw Him frequently 
during the forty days after His resurrection, at which 
times He spoke to them concerning the kingdom which 
He was about to establish. (Acts 1-3.) This allegation 
accords with His claims to have existed before the world 
was (John 17:5); with His own predictions (Matt. 26; 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


113 


32); with His claim to be the resurrection and the life 
(John 11:25); and with His remarkable prophecy that 
“the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the rock”— 
i. e., of His Sonship, which proposition would be estab¬ 
lished by His resurrection from the dead (Rom. 1:4). 
This fact is further corroborated by the world-wide 
commission. 


—8- 


114 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


IX. 

THE WORLD-WIDE COMMISSION. 

This is found in the closing chapters of Matthew’s, 
Mark’s, and Luke’s Gospels. It was given after Christ’s 
death (Luke 24:46) and before His ascension (24:49). 
Jesus here claims to have “all authority in heaven and in 
earth.” (Matt. 28:18.) Upon this authority He com¬ 
mands His disciples, “Go ye into all the world and preach 
the gospel unto every creature.” (Mark 16:15.) How dif¬ 
ferent from, the first commission, “only to the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel”! (Matt. 10:5-6.) He promises 
salvation to every obedient believer. (Mark 16 :16.) “Out 
of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord 
from Jerusalem.” (Isa. 2:3.) He therefore fixes the 
point of beginning; viz., at Jerusalem. His gospel must 
not begin in some remote corner, lest His enemies should 
say it grew up among the vulgar and unrefined and un¬ 
critical, but in the very center of opposition; and hence 
He is careful to state that “repentance and remission of 
sins should be preached in His name among all nations, 
beginning at Jerusalem ” (Luke 24:47.) He warns all 
who hear that gospel and reject it, in these words: “He 
that disbelieveth shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:16.) 
In order to the execution of that commission, Jesus prom¬ 
ises His continued presence with His apostles and pro- 
claimers unto the end of the world: “Lo, I am with you 
alway, even unto the end of the world.” (Matt. 28:20.) 






OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


115 


Id order for His apostles to make that proclamation to 
“all nations/’ they must be qualified to speak with cour¬ 
age and assurance in every language of earth; and hence 
they must “tarry at Jerusalem till they be endued with 
power from on high.” (Luke 24:49.) To make that proc¬ 
lamation credible, it must be properly attested by “mira¬ 
cles, wonders, and signs”; and hence we read, “These signs 
shall follow them that believe.” (Mark 16:17-18.) And 
lest some spiritual guides away down the stream of time 
should not be able to distinguish between “them that be¬ 
lieve” and “he that believes,” the writer adds: “And they 
went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working 
with them and confirming the word with signs follow¬ 
ing. Amen.” (Mark 16:20.) The skeptic contends these 
signs were “always to be”: but since “they are not,” he 
concludes, “they never were” ! And this is logic! Others 
of the “modern seer” type allege these signs were “always 
to be” and “they are”; and yet one must search in corners 
remote to find them! Mark does not indorse either: he 
says “them that believe,” not “he that believes.” And with 
him Paul agrees; for he teaches that “God hath set some 
in the Church,” and classifies them in orders: “first apos¬ 
tles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, then gifts of 
healings . . .” He then proceeds to show “the more ex¬ 
cellent way,” prior to the coming of which the most coveted 
gifts, as “prophecy” and “tongues” and “knowledge” (all 
miraculous, of course), should fail; and with them the 
lesser ones also, when there would “abide faith, hope, and 
love” as the permanent working forces in the Church. (1 
Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4.) 


116 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


But to return: This commission is the most remark - 
able document the world ever saw. Remarkable in the 
Author’s claim to have “all authority in heaven and in 
earth”; remarkable in his claim to a world-wide kingdom 
—“all nations/’ “into all the world/’ and “to every crea¬ 
ture”; remarkable in the means to be employed in estab¬ 
lishing His kingdom—“preach the gospel/’ (Rom. 1:16; 
1 Cor. 1:17-24, 30; 15 :l-8; 1 Tim. 1:5); remarkable in the 
Author’s pledge to be with the proclaimers of His gospel 
to the end of the world; remarkable in the promise of sal¬ 
vation to every one that believes and submits to His author¬ 
ity, remarkable in the warning, “He that disbelieveth shall 
be condemned”; and finally, remarkable because He is mak¬ 
ing all these claims and promises and warnings good. 

These claims are unique—unparalleled in all the lit¬ 
erature of earth. But what stupendous folly unless they 
be supported by the clearest of evidence! When we con¬ 
sider the prophecies already referred to; the evidence at 
His baptism; His holy spiritual nature; His power over 
all manner of disease; that, at His command, the dead 
came forth, the fig-tree withered away, and the winds and 
the waves obeyed His will,—it begins to dawn on our minds 
that He is able to command a peace for the troubled soul. 
Again: When we remember the scene of the transfigura¬ 
tion, in which Elijah from the eternal world and Moses 
from the underworld, the state of the dead, and the inner 
circle of the apostolic band from the present world—repre¬ 
sentatives of every state of man and the chiefest of them 
—all stood upon the holy mount enveloped in the divine 
glory and heard that voice from heaven, “This is My be- 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


117 


loved Son, in Whom I am well pleased: hear ye Him /'— 
we begin to catch a glimpse of that unique consciousness 
of the Man of Galilee. As we view the cross with its in¬ 
expressible agonies and listen to that wonderful prayer 
for His enemies, “Father, forgive them: for they know 
not what they do”; and a little later, as He tasted death 
for every man, we hear that most pathetic, awe-inspiring, 
and fearful warning to those who trifle away their hope 
of heaven: when, for a moment, the Father withdrew His 
face, the Son cried out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou 
forsaken Me?”—then it is we hear the authority of infin¬ 
ite love and sacrifice, of compassion and warning from 
that great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls. Once more 
He cried with a loud voice , and added for us, “It is fin¬ 
ished,” and gave up the spirit. No pen records those 
words. That was a voice for the underworld. To them 
it was the trumpet-call of victory, and very naturally they 
alone could understand. But our interest gathers about 
that empty tomb: for the authority of Jesus as viewed 
from this world rests on the empty tomb of Joseph of 
Arimathea. Oh, the silence of the grave! How many mil¬ 
lions have called, and no voice, no whisper has come back 
to them from that silent realm! But we read: “He shall 
destroy the veil once spread over all nations.” (Isa. 25: 
8.) He said while living, “The gates of Hades shall not 
prevail.” Again: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour 
is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice 
of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” “Mar¬ 
vel not at this: for the hour is coming in the which all that 
are in the graves shall hear His voice and come forth: 


118 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and 
they that have done evil, nnto the resurrection of dam¬ 
nation.” (John 5.) “Because I live, ye shall live also.” 
But we are occasionally asked, “Did you ever hear of the 
sixteen crucified saviors?” as though they were peers of 
this One! “Sixteen crucified?” we answer; “and pray tell 
us who they were.” But lo, their admirers have forgotten! 
Write Ichdbod upon their tombstones and let them sleep: 
for they are worthy. But read the pledge of another: “Lo, 
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world!” 
At close range, foot-hills often hide from view the colossal 
mount at whose feet they crouch: but move out one 
hundred miles, and they are seen to fade away into a mere 
bluish tint and are lost to view. So time furnishes the 
true perspective for greatness of character. Dagon has 
gone down into oblivion: but Israel’s God reigns on. Baal 
has fallen: the dust of centuries has swept over him: 
but Jehovah rules the world. Moloch, with his insatiable 
thirst for the blood of innocents, sleeps in the dust: but 
our Leader still lives, and gathers the lambs into His 
bosom. 

Bui if Jesus did not rise from the dead , this commis¬ 
sion is wholly without foundation, and is the most unrea¬ 
sonable, unaccountable, and blasphemous document in the 
world. (1) No enemy of Christ could possibly be its 
author. (2) The apostles of Christ could not have orig¬ 
inated this commission: for it is very evident that they 
never . prior to His death , conceived of a spiritual, much 
less a world-wide, kingdom. (See Matt. 18:1-6; Luke 9: 
46-48; Matt. 20:20-28; Luke 22:24-30; John 13:4-17.) 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


119 


In the first place, they did not believe that He would 
die. (Matt. 16 :16-22.) As a result of this, they certainly 
did not believe that He would rise. (Mark 9 :9-10; John 
20:8-9; 1 Pet. 1:3-5.) And as a result of this unbelief 
they did not and could not believe that He would found 
His kingdom upon His death and His resurrection. (Luke 
24:21.) But the commission itself makes the death and 
the resurrection of Christ a prior necessity to the procla¬ 
mation of the gospel. (Luke 24:46-47.) This scripture 
alleges those facts to have taken place as foretold by the 
prophets, and the commission stands between those facts 
and the “tarry at Jerusalem.” 

Ho sane man would assume such a momentous fact as 
the resurrection of Christ for the basis of a world-wide 
proclamation; the proclamation could have no weight what¬ 
ever if the fundamental fact were assumed; and certainly 
the apostles would not assume as fact that which they did 
not believe and could not understand prior to the event. 
It must be evident, also, that the apostles of Christ, with 
the fact of the resurrection clearly authenticated, could 
not, unaided, have used that fact in establishing a world¬ 
wide kingdom. It would have been wholly beyond their 
power and ken to have grasped its significance and to have 
set it forth in the short space of ten days. (Rom. 1:4.) 
Jesus alone is the author of that commission. It could 
have no meaning whatever to His disciples prior to His 
resurrection. And after His resurrection and prior to His 
ascension it meant nothing more than a revival of dead 
hopes—an earthly kingdom for Israel. (Acts 1:6.) 

But if Jesus rose from the dead and is the author of 


120 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


that commission, as we have seen, then it is not only a 
rational document, hut it is the most momentous procla¬ 
mation ever addressed to our race. We simply state that 
Jesus is making good every claim to authority and every 
promise and warning contained in the commission. We 
have been asked, “From what does Jesus save ?” and “Why 
must one be condemned for not believing in Him?” We 
answer these queries under “The Sole Issue.” (Read Matt. 
28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:46-47.) 

“Tarry ye at Jerusalem until ye he endued with power 
from on high ” 

On the night of the betrayal, when all the fondest hopes 
of His disciples were fading away, and profound sorrow 
had filled their hearts, Jesus tenderly and lovingly opened 
to their view a momentary vision of the heavenly man¬ 
sions, and added, “I go to prepare a place for you.” They 
could not follow Him then, but He would come again and 
take them unto Himself. “I will not leave you comfort¬ 
less.” “I am going to My Father, but I will send you an¬ 
other Comforter, Whom the world cannot receive.” “And 
when He is come, He will convince the world of sin; be¬ 
cause they believe not in Me; of [My] righteousness, be¬ 
cause I go to the Father; of judgment, because the prince 
of this world is judged.” (John 16:7-11.) The basis of 
condemnation is disbelief in Christ, and the reason for 
condemnation is, “If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall 
die in your sins”: for then they would not love Him, nor 
obey Him, nor become like Him: and hence could not 
come into His presence. (John 8:24.) The proof of 
Christ’s righteousness is seen in the fact that He ascended 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


12L 


to the Father. And this latter fact was established (1) b}* 
witnesses who saw Him ascend, and (2) by the coming 
of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:1-33; 1 Cor. 12:3.) The 
fact of a judgment is established by the resurrection of 
Christ as the federal Head of the race. (Rom. 5:18; 1 
Cor. 15:20-23.) His authority reaches the underworld. 
(Phs. 2:5-11.) His coronation can mean nothing less 
than the judgment of the entire race before the bar of 
eternal justice. (John 5:25-29; Acts 17:30-31.) 

In enabling them to proclaim His gospel effectively, 
the Comforter would do for them the following. 

1. “He shall teach you all things”; i. e., things not 
already taught and that are needful for you to know. 
(Acts 1:8; John 14:26.) 

2. “He shall bring all things to your remembrance”; 
i. e., “all things whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 
14:26; Matt. 28:20.) 

3. “He shall guide you into all truth”; i. e., into ail 
truth yet to be revealed in establishing the kingdom. 
(John 16 :13.) 

4. “He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever 
He shall hear, that shall He speak.” “He shall glorify 
Me, for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto 
you.” 

5. “He will show you things to come.” (John 16: 
13-14.) 

6. “Under the most trying circumstances,” “Take 
no thought,” said the Master, “how or what ye shall speak; 
for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall 
speak.” “Settle it, therefore, in your hearts not to medi- 


122 


FOREGLEAMS IN’ NATURE 


tate beforehand what ye shall answer; for I will give you 
a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not 
be able to gainsay nor resist.” The reason is given: “For 
it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which 
speaketh in you.” “Neither knoweth any man the Father 
save the Son and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal 
Him.” (Matt. 11:27.) “I came forth from the Father.” 
(Jno. 16:28.) “The Father which sent Me, He gave Me 
a commandment what I should say. ... I speak 
therefore even as the Father said unto Me.” (Jno. 12: 
49-50.) “As the Father sent Me, even so I send you.” 
“He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and He that receiv- 
eth Me receiveth Him that sent Me.” (Matt. 11:40.) 
“He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth 
you despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth 
Him that sent Me.” (Luke 10:16.) 

But this Comforter should not come till Jesus had gone 
to the Father, till He should be glorified. Proof: John 16: 
7; 14:16; 15:26; 8:37-39. “If I go not away, the Com¬ 
forter will not come unto you.” “I will pray the Father, 
and He shall give you another Comforter”—“Whom the 
world cannot receive”—“Whom I will send from the Fa¬ 
ther.” The coming of the Holy Spirit would be proof 
of Christ*s presence with the Father, of His glorification, 
of His coronation, of His Lordship. (1 Cor. 12:3.) 

The necessity for such a Comforter and guide is seen 
in the following facts: His disciples had forgotten many 
things He had said unto them; many things remembered 
by them were not as yet understood by them; they could 
not yet preach unto every creature, because they were not 



OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


123 


yet empowered to speak the languages of earth; they 
had not at this time a just conception of Christ’s kingdom; 
and, finally, they needed courage and power to proclaim 
the gospel in the face of all opposition. The gospel of the 
kingdom is no longer the popular theme of John the Bap¬ 
tist , “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Neither is 
it the very popular theme of the twelve or of the seventy 
'under the first commission to the lost sheep of the house 
of Israel , of “the kingdom at hand That was a very 
welcome message. The people were full of expectation 
concerning the near approach of the kingdom. But Je¬ 
sus indicated that there would be a radical change of atti¬ 
tude toward the kingdom under the world-wide commis¬ 
sion. That proclamation would seek to establish, among 
other things, the following facts: 

1. That Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the Son of 
God. 

2. That the chief priests and rulers, the people con¬ 
senting, had killed the Christ as an impostor. 

3. That the Christ had actually risen from the grave, 
demonstrating His Sonship and as certainly their guilt 
of murder. 

4. That He had been made both Lord and Christ. 

5. That He offered salvation to the Gentiles on pre¬ 
cisely the same terms as to the Jews. 

6. That He had broken down the middle wall of par¬ 
tition between Jew and Gentile; viz., the law of Moses as 
a scheme of salvation. 

No man could preach a single fact here mentioned 
without arousing the bitterest opposition and persecution 
from the Jews; hence Jesus warned His disciples of this 


124 


FOREGLEAMS IN' NATURE 


persecution, and sought to fortify them in making this 
proclamation, which would eventually cost them their 
lives. (Matt. 10:27-32.) 

No prophet of ancient times ever conceived of the glory 
of this kingdom. Proof: 1 Peter 1:10-12. The angels 
themselves desired to look into this salvation. John the 
Baptist caught but a faint glimpse of it. His conception 
had much of the earthly in it. And from what we have 
already stated, it is perfectly clear that the apostles, who 
frequently disputed about who of them should be the 
greatest in the kingdom, had no just conception of it. 
Their conception of the kingdom at first had no suffering 
Christ; no Christ in the tomb; no risen Christ; and cer¬ 
tainly no exalted Christ as Lord in it. As Jesus was about 
to ascend, His apostles inquired, “Lord, wilt Thou at this 
time restore again the kingdom to Israel ?” The old false 
notion of an earthly kingdom here once more comes boldly 
into view. The notion of earthly honors is beginning to 
appear, and the question, “Who is the greatest in the king¬ 
dom of heaven?” is once more up for settlement. How 
hard their false notion of the kingdom dies! But die it 
must, in order that the true notion may be born. Jesus 
answers: “It is not for you to know the times nor the 
seasons which the Father hath put in His own power. But 
ye shall receive power”— i. e., to establish My kingdom— 
“after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you.” And when 
He had spoken these things, He lifted up His hands and 
was blessing them; “and as they beheld He was taken up, 
and a bright cloud received Him out of their sight.” 
(Acts 1:6-9; Luke 24:50-51.) That was the end of their 
old dream: the material gives way for the spiritual. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


125 


X. 

LESSONS FROM THE ASCENSION. 

A new conception of Christ and His kingdom was horn 
into the world on that day. It came when Jesus ascended 
and the angels declared, “He is gone into heaven.” The old 
false notion of an earthly kingdom, revived for a time by 
the resurrection, has died, never to live again. That new 
conception is here, and no man can account for its pres¬ 
ence and hold upon man if he denies the fact here alleged. 
It was not in the possession of the ancient prophets. (1 
Pet. 1:12.) It was not in the possession of Zacharias when 
he prophesied of the mission of John the Baptist. (Luke 
1:67-80.) The salvation here contemplated belongs rather 
to time. It does not look beyond the grave. John the 
Baptist did not conceive of a spiritual kingdom looking 
beyond the grave. His conception evidently belonged to 
the present. His last question to Christ certainly indi¬ 
cates this much. (Matt. 11:2-6.) The conception of the 
apostles prior to this event may be read in their disputes 
concerning greatness in the kingdom; in their unbelief in 
His prediction of His death, and concerning His resurrec¬ 
tion ; and in their final question, “Wilt Thou at this time 
restore the kingdom to Israel ?” (Acts 1:6.) Jesus is no 
longer an earthly ruler. (John 18:36.) No longer do the 
apostles dispute over worldly honors in an earthly king¬ 
dom! Every vestige of sorrow arising from thoughts of 
hopes blasted, disappears. (John 14:3.) Hope looks be- 


J.26 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


yond the things of time and sense; and visions of the heav¬ 
enly mansions, and thoughts of “the eternal inheritance 
that is incorruptible and undefiled, and that fades not 
not away, reserved in heaven” for the followers of Jesus, 
now fill their minds and hearts with inexpressible joy. 
The power of an endless life has taken hold of them. 
Jesus would come again to take them home. Marvelous 
events are just ahead. But enough has been disclosed to 
them by that scene near Bethany (Luke 24:51) to give 
birth to higher hopes and nobler longings, resulting in a 
grand prayer-meeting, ending with 

THE COMING OF THE POWER FROM ON HIGH. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


127 


IV. 

FULFILLED PROPHECY. 

PART III.—THE REIGN OF CHRIST. 

We are now ready to trace the beginning of Christ’s 
rule on earth. (Isa. 53:12.) The fact of His Lordship 
mnst be established. This fact could be known only by 
evidence from the eternal world. That evidence must be 
clear, tangible, and^ conclusive— must reach consciousness 
itself. The evidence is recorded in Acts 2. It is found in 
the “sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind,” 
which sound filled all the house where the apostles were 
sitting; in the cloven tongues UJce as of fire sitting upon 
the heads of the apostles; in the speaking by the apostles 
so as to be understood in the native tongues of Jews born 
in at least seventeen different countries; and in the ex¬ 
planation of the chief speaker as to the source of the won¬ 
derful power by which they spoke. This evidence was cor¬ 
roborated by many signs and wonders and miracles 
wrought by the apostles in the name of Christ. 

A wonderful scene is before the people! Twelve men 
“with tongues like as of fire upon their heads” were ad¬ 
dressing devout Jews from every nation under heaven 
(2:9-11), so that each auditor heard them in his own 
tongue, wherein he was born! (2:8.) The fact was evi¬ 
dent. As each interrogated the other in the common lan¬ 
guage and realized what was being done, the wonder grew. 


128 


EOREGLEAMS IN' NATURE 


The question was upon every lip, “How hear we every 
man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” (Acts 
2:8-12; 1 Cor. 14:21-22; Isa. 28:11-12.) 

Let us now reason together concerning the certainty of 
this event, and concerning its necessity in order to Christ’s 
rule over men. 

The coming of the Spirit is a fact of prophecy. (Joel 
2:28-32.) That some One should ascend on high and re¬ 
ceive gifts for men is also a fact of prophecy. (Psa. 68: 
18; Eph. 4:7.) The Holy Spirit was not given during 
the personal ministry of Christ or before. (John 7:39; 
16:7.) The Spirit, when He came, should convince the 
world of Christ’s righteousness: because that coming 
would be proof that Christ had gone to the Father (John 
16 :10). But the Father would receive only righteous ones 
into His presence. The resurrection demonstrated His 
Sonship (Rom. 1:3) : for an impostor could not raise him¬ 
self, and God would not raise an imposter. But Jesus 
claimed to be the Son of God. And finally the coming 
of the Spirit would demonstrate Jesus to be Lord as well 
as the Christ. (Acts 2:32-36; John 16:14; 1 Cor. 12:3.) 

Some One should die, be buried, should prolong His 
days, and become a great ruler in the earth. (Isa. 53.) 
But that a dead man should establish and maintain such 
rule over millions of the wisest and the purest and the 
noblest of earth would be ihe miracle of all ages! Now 
that Jesus of Nazareth did, after His death, and upon His 
love manifested in His death, establish and does now main¬ 
tain such rule, is a fact of history, of observation, and of 
consciousness. The skeptic may rise and explain. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


129 


Jesus began His rule as Lord, and not merely as a 
teacher of ethics. His rule over men could not begin be¬ 
fore the fact of His Lordship was established among men. 
One fact will make this evident. Fifty days before, the 
Jews had crucified Him as a Sabbath-breaker and a blas¬ 
phemer. These murderers would not accept His moral 
teachings, many of which diametrically opposed their own, 
without overwhelming proof of His authority. It is evi¬ 
dent that nothing less than evidence from the throne of 
the universe could effectually authenticate the essential 
fact in the proof; and hence Paul says, “Ho man can say 
that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit.” This is, be¬ 
yond doubt, the import of this passage. But that we are 
right in making the proof of His Lordship the basis of 
His rule, the necessary antecedent of His rule over men, 
may be tested by every individual. No man who denies 
that fact will submit to all the obligations imposed upon 
him by the Master. Besides, this is the fact which Peter 
established at the close of his famous address on the first 
Pentecost after the crucifixion, and which called forth the 
question, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” It is 
the fact that every tongue shall confess; viz., “Jesus Christ 
is Lord,” to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 
2:5-11.) 

The Pentecostans must have been absolutely certain of 
some momentous fact not within the power of man to do, 
and which finds its explanation exclusively and adequately 
in the fact of Christ’s Lordship, before they would acknowl¬ 
edge His rightful authority over them. The presence of 
a divine power was established beyond a doubt in “the 
—9— 


130 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


sound from heaven,” and in “the tongues like as of fire”; 
but especially in the speaking of the apostles so that de- 
\out Jews from all the surrounding nations each heard 
them in his own tongue, wherein he was horn. We read of 
the devout Jews dwelling at Jerusalem from every nation 
under heaven, that “all were amazed and were in doubt, 
saying one to another, What meaneth this?” But “oth¬ 
ers,” not knowing the languages spoken, and hence not 
knowing directly the fact of their being spoken, “mock¬ 
ing said, These men are full of new wine.” Some mod¬ 
ern writers, by taking lessons from these original fun- 
makers, have resolved the gift of tongues into a sort of 
spiritual drunkenness—“ecstatic exclamations of emo¬ 
tion.” Peter’s explanation of this wonderful phenomenon 
of consciousness completes the proof of the Lordship of 
Jesus. This proof accounts for the beginning of Christ’s 
rule over three thousand who but fifty days previous said, 
“His blood be upon us and our children.” The Church of 
Jesus Christ did not take its origin in ethics. Its founda¬ 
tion rests upon the facts of His death for our sins accord¬ 
ing to the Scriptures; of His burial and resurrection ac¬ 
cording to the Scriptures; of His ascension and corona¬ 
tion according to the Scriptures; of His Lordship as evi¬ 
denced by the baptism in the Holy Spirit. This latter 
fact, through the gift of tongues, addressed itself to the 
very consciousness of every competent auditor on that 
•occasion. It addressed eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses. 
It did this so as to remove every reasonable doubt as to 
the Lordship of Jesus from the minds of the jury. 

Some who profess to know what God can apd can not dq 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


131 


tell us that such an event is “impossible”; and professing 
to know the mind of the Lord, declare that such an event 
is very “improbable”; and upon these verities of rational¬ 
ism they tell us the alleged event is necessarily “false.” 
We have touched upon this doctrine of impossibility in the 
preceding pages. We have also shown, we think, that such 
an event, in the light of Nature’s teachings, and of the 
types and shadows of the ancient religion, and of the 
prophecies of the Old Testament, and of the clearer pre¬ 
dictions by Christ himself, and in the light of the neces¬ 
sity for such proof, is very probable. But if this event did 
not take place, then the skeptic is brought face to face 
with another fact which no sane man dare dispute, and 
which is far more marvelous; viz., that a dead man has be¬ 
come the greatest ruler of earth! If weak thy faith, why 
choose the harder side? 


132 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


II. 

PETER’S ARGUMENT IN THE CASE. 

It is a difficult matter to get a jury to convict one of 
having willfully, maliciously, and premeditatedly and with 
malice aforethought murdered his fellow-man; but the 
evidence must be unusually clear and conclusive to cause 
a jury to convict of murder in the first degree w T hen they 
themselves are the accused. It was just such a jury to 
whom Peter made his first great speech. The legal pro¬ 
fession ought to be interested in that address. Not one of 
them, we presume, ever made a plea under such circum¬ 
stances. This speech is found in Acts 2. 

The jury stood in the presence of an inexplicable mys¬ 
tery, as already stated In their amazement they inquire, 
“What meaneth this?” Peter arose with the eleven and 
began his memorable address: “Ye men of Judea and all 
ye that dwell at Jerusalem, hearken unto my words.” 
“This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel” (2: 
28-32), the closing words of which read, “Whosoever shall 
call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” 

I. THE ACCUSATION. 

1. Jesus of Nazareth was a man approved of God 
among you. 

2. That approval was manifest to you by miracles 
and winders and signs which God .did by Him in the midst 
of you. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


133 


3. This fact ye yourselves also know to be true. 

4. Now this Jesus was delivered, not by superior force 
and cunning, as ye supposed, hut by the determinate coun¬ 
sel and foreknowledge of God.” (Psa. 41:9-10.) 

5. Him ye have taken, and with wicked hands ye have 
crucified and slain. 


ii. Christ’s vindication. 

6. “But God hath raised Him up: because it was not 
possible that He should be held in the grave.” Not pos¬ 
sible, because during His life He showed His power over 
death. Not possible, because He voluntarily died for man 
with avowed purpose of rising from the dead. Not possi¬ 
ble, because David declared that the Christ should rise. 
(Psa. 16:8-ll.) David did not refer to himself: “For he 
is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto 
this day.” “But David was a prophet; and, knowing that 
God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of 
his loins according to the flesh, He would raise up the 
Christ to sit on His throne, he , foreseeing this, spake of the 
resurrection of the Christ , that His soul was not left in 
Hades , neither did His flesh see corruption.” The Christ, 
then, should rise. 

7. But this same Jesus whom ye crucified hath God 
raised up: of which fact we all are witnesses.” The reader 
will note the number of witnesses; the attendant phenom¬ 
ena, especially the gift of tongues; and their direct accusa¬ 
tion and testimony in the face of danger. He will then 
be prepared for the next allegation. 

8. “Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God 


134 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy 
Spirit”— i. e., the gifts for men (Psa. 68:18), “He hath,” 
according to His promise unto us (John 16), “shed forth 
this which ye now see and hear.” 

III. CHRIST AS LORD. 

Some One should ascend on high and receive gifts for 
men. But this cannot refer to David: “for David is not 
ascended into the heavens.” Furthermore David himself 
said “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on my right 
hand until I make Thy foes Thy footstool. Therefore let 
all the house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made 
that same Jesus whom ye crucified both Lord and Christ.” 

In substance: Ye murdered the Christ: but God hath 
raised Him up. Ye crucified Him as a blasphemer: but 
God hath received Him to Himself. Ye said, “We have no 
king but Caesar”: but God says, “Rule Thou in the midst 
of Thine enemies”—“until I make Thy foes Thy foot¬ 
stool.” By this time the jury reached their decision: 
“God hath made that same Jesus whom we crucified both 
Lord and Christ.” 

Pierced to their hearts for what they had done and :'n 
view of a judgment, they cried out, “Men and brethren, 
what shall we do?” 

Jesus had given the keys of the kingdom to Peter 
(Matt. 16:16-19), and had further declared that “repent¬ 
ance and remission of sins should be preached in His name 
among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (Luke 24: 
46-47.) We, then, have the right man preaching; we 
have him at the place of the beginning; we have him en- 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


135 


dued with power from on high; and have him answering 
a very important question—the question, “Men and breth¬ 
ren, what shall we do ?** This is the way the chosen apos¬ 


tle used the keys: 

“Kepent and be baptized,”.the what 

“Every one of you,”.the who 

“In the name of Jesus Christ,” . . . the authority 

“For the remission of sins,” .... the blessing 
“And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit,” 

.the seal of salvation: 

“For the promise” of salvation (Joel 2:32) “is unto 

you and to } r our children,”. the Jews, 

“And to all that are afar off,”.... the Gentiles 


“Even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” . . . 

“Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord.” (Joel 
2:32.) 

“Then they that gladly received His word were bap¬ 
tized : and the same day there were added unto them about 
three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in 
the apostles* doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of 
bread and in prayers.” (Acts 2 :38-47; Matt. 28-20.) The 
early Christians believed in Jesus as Lord: submitted unto 
His authority: assembled for worship and continued in 
the apostles* doctrine—the second part of the great commis¬ 
sion. The notion that “I can live as good a Christian out 
of the Church as in it,** has neither reason, experience, nor 
Christ to sanction it; for, if universally adopted, it would 
destroy the Church of Christ from the earth. 





136 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


HI. 

TEN ARGUMENTS ON THE PRESENCE OF A 
DIVINE POWER. 

I. Such acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Christ by 
His murderers is very strong proof of His claims to be the 
Savior of the soul as well as of the body. In making that 
confession, they publicly admit their own guilt of murder 
and publicly proclaim that their rulers had rejected and 
crucified the Christ, the Son of God, who is now the risen 
and exalted Lord and Prince of Life. 

The apostles not only a/firmed, but confirmed the fact 
of Christ’s Lordship. They spoke by a divine power and 
made their hearers realize that they thus spoke: so that 
the evidence reached the consciousness of the hearers. 
Such evidence and kindred evidence was daily afforded 
until the fact of ChrisFs Lordship was established in the 
minds of “multitudes of priests who became obedient to 
the faith.” (Acts 6:7.) It was further confirmed till 
miraculous proof could add no new weight to the evidence 
adduced. (Luke 19:31.) 

In the various epistles the apostles make the claim to 
have formerly spoken by a divine power to the believers 
addressed; and hence the forgery of these epistles would 
have been impossible of success. The churches were estab¬ 
lished many years before a single line of the New Testa¬ 
ment was penned. The epistles were written to believers 
in Christ, to be publicly read in the presence of unbeliev- 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


137 


ers also. These epistles assume, as known and received by 
the churches, all the cardinal facts of the gospel. The 
Gospels record in part only the facts and the evidence on 
which the apostles and primitive Christians based their 
faith in Christ. But these facts and this evidence the 
writers pen in order that their readers might believe that 
Jesus is the Christ. (John 20:30-31.) Their own faith, 
however, rested upon the oral testimony of Jesus and His 
mil-acids wrought by Him in person in their presence, or 
through His apostles. The faith of the apostolic converts 
to Christ rested upon: (1) personal experience and obser¬ 
vation of Christ’s miracles; and (2) upon the oral testi¬ 
mony of the apostles as confirmed by the “demonstration 
of the Spirit and of power.” (1 Cor. 2:4-5.) “The same 
works that I do,” said Jesus, “bear witness of me.” The 
Church can never pass this proof: “Lo, I am with you 
alway, even to the end of the world.” 

This great salvation “at the first began to be spoken by 
the Lord.” “It was confirmed unto us,” says the writer, 
ff by them that heard Him.” Both the writer and the read¬ 
ers had witnessed this confirmation. (Heb. 2:1-4.) In 
making this confirmation, “God bore them witness both 
with signs and wonders and divers miracles, and gifts of 
the Holy Spirit.” “Of this salvation,” says another 
■writer, “the prophets have inquired and searched diligent¬ 
ly, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto 
you ”—believers in Christ. “They searched [their own 
prophecies to know'] what time and what manner of time 
the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when 
it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the- 


138 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


glory that should follow.” (See Isa. 53:11.) The mys¬ 
tery was too profound for them to fathom. “Yet,” says 
the writer, “unto them the vision was revealed,” but not 
in the light of experience (Matt. 13:17), “so that they 
could not minister unto themselves, but unto us they did 
minister, the things which are now reported unto you by 
them that have preached the gospel unto you with the 
Holy Spirit sent down from heaven” So profound was 
this mystery, says the writer, that even “the angels desired 
to look into it.” (1 Pet. 1:10-12.) 

This same writer, as he was nearing the close of his 
life, says that he would endeavor that Christians, after his 
decease, should have the ground of their salvation always 
in remembrance. (2 Pet. 1:15.) We find that purpose 
executed in Mark’s Gospel, written at the dictation of 
Peter. Already unbelievers were beginning to call the 
gospel cunningly devised fables. How appropriate, then, 
that the last letter from this great apostle, should contain 
these assuring words: “We have not followed cunningly 
devised fables when we made known unto you the power 
-and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye¬ 
witnesses of His majesty. For He received from the Fa¬ 
ther honor and glory when there came such a voice to Him 
from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in Whom 
I am well pleased. And this voice, which came from 
from heaven, we heard when we were with Him in the 
holy mount.” (2 Pet. 1:16-18.) 

II. A few days later this divine power enabled Peter 
to heal a notable cripple at the Beautiful Gate of the Tem¬ 
ple. This man was lame from birth, and was carried 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


139 


daily by friends to this gate to ask alms of those who en¬ 
tered. But he was doing more. He was getting ready an 
audience for the apostles of Christ. Every adult in Jeru¬ 
salem, every little boy and girl in the Holy City, must have 
known of his sad condition. Myriads of worshipers in 
Palestine, who came up from all parts to worship, bad 
seen and known him. 

One day, as Peter and John went up to the Temple, the 
cripple asked alms of them. Peter replied, “Look on us.” 
The man gave heed, expecting to receive alms. But Peter 
said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give 
I unto thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise 
up and walk.” “He, leaping up, stood and walked, and 
entered with them into the Temple, walking and leaping 
and praising God.” And all the people greatly wondered 
at what was done. 

Peter answers this wondering gaze, saying, “Ye men of 
Israel, why marvel yet at this, or why look ye so earnestly 
on us, as though by our own power and holiness we have 
made this man to walk?” The real cause for marvel lay 
not in the healing, but in the presence of the divine power 
from on high. He now relates this power to Jesus of Naz¬ 
areth, as follows: 

1. “God hath glorified His Son Jesus, Whom ye de¬ 
livered up and denied. 

2. “Ye denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when 
he was determined to let Him go. 

3. “Ye desired a murderer to be granted unto you and 
killed the Prince of Life, Whom God hath raised up; 
whereof we are witnesses. 


140 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


4. “And in His name, through faith in His name, 
this man hath this perfect soundness in the presence of 
you all.” (Acts 3.) 

Five thousand more believed in Jesus. But the ser¬ 
mon is brought to an abrupt close by the arrest of the apos¬ 
tles “because they preached through Jesus the resurrection 
of the dead ” 

On the morrow they were brought into the presence of 
the elders and scribes and the high priest and many' others 
of note. They were asked, “By what power or by what 
name have ye done this?” Peter replied, “Be it known 
unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the 
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom ye crucified, 
Whom God raised from the dead, even by Him doth this 
man st^nd here before you whole.” “Now when they saw 
the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they 
were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and 
they took knowledge of them that they had been with 
Jesus. And beholding the man that was healed standing 
with them, they could say nothing against it.” (Acts 4.) 
What a change had come over that little band since the 
night of the betrayal! A council is now held. The ques¬ 
tion was, “What shall we do to these men ? for that indeed 
a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all 
that dwell at Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it” That 
cripple was faithfully performing his part as a preacher 
of the gospel. And Jesus was redeeming His pledge: “I 
will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adver¬ 
saries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.” (Luke 
21:15.) 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


141 


Where, now, was Caiaphas’s doctrine of expediency? 
What is to be come of the argument begotten of large 
money ? One man had been put to death to save their place 
and nation, and twelve more had come in His stead! And 
no command or threat or punishment of men could dis¬ 
suade them from preaching the Gospel of the risen Christ. 
And that august body “could find no way by which to pun¬ 
ish them for contempt of court because of the people; for 
all men glorified God for that which was done.” A divine 
power was evidently reaching down. “We cannot deny it," 
was the verdict of that council. 

III. A few days later this same power enabled Peter 
to detect and expose, the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sap- 
phira, on account of which they were both struck dead. 
The Spirit of God cannot he deceived. As a result of this, 
“great fear came upon all the Church and upon as many 
as heard these things. And by the hands of the apostles 
many signs and wonders were wrought among the people.” 
The faith of the people in the presence of a divine power 
with Peter moved them to bring forth their sick into the 
streets, that even the shadow of Peter might fall upon 
some of them. There was no treatment given. Peter’s 
method was very simple. “In the name of Jesus Christ of 
Nazareth, rise up and walk!” and the work was done. 
(Acts 5.) 

IV. We read again: “Then came a multitude out of 
the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks 
and them that were possessed with unclean spirits; and 
they were healed every one.” (Acts 5.) 

Every new healing was a new proof that the rulers were 


142 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


guilty of murdering the Son of God, and that .Jesus was 
reigning in the hearts of His followers. The common peo¬ 
ple saw the import of these miracles: and the facts alleged 
were of such character and so related to the rulers that 
they were compelled to take action. In this particular the 
miracles wrought by Christ and His apostles have no par¬ 
allel. The record stands: "A notable miracle hath been 
done by them. It is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusa¬ 
lem, and we cannot deny it.” In this case we read, 
Healed every one. 

V. “Philip went down to the city of Samaria and 
preached Christ unto them. And the people with one ac¬ 
cord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hear¬ 
ing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean 
spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were 
possessed with them; and many that were lame were 
healed. And there was great joy in that city.” (Acts 8.) 

VI. Peter became a missionary. “As he passed 
through all quarters, he came down also to the saints which 
dwelt at Lydda. And finding a man named iEneas, which 
had kept his bed eight years and was sick of the palsy, 
Peter said unto him, iEneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee 
whole. Arise and make thy bed. And he arose immedi¬ 
ately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him 
and turned unto the Lord.” (Acts 9.) This healing was 
the basis for belief in Jesus as the author of salvation in 
the highest and noblest sense of the term. 

VII. Joppa sees, hears, and believes in the Lord. 
A certain woman, Tabitha, or Dorcas, lived there. “She 
was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.” But 


OP REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


143 


death came. Peter was called, and “all the widows stood 
by him weeping and showing the coats Dorcas made while 
she was with them.” These tokens of love and humanity 
seemed to say, “Call her back to life.” Peter put all the 
mourners forth. He kneeled down and prayed. He then 
called, “Tabitha, arise!” She opened her eyes; when she 
saw Peter, she sat up. He gave her his hand, lifted her 
up, and having called the saints and widows, he presented 
her alive. And it was known throughout all Joppa, and 
many turned unto the Lord. (Acts 9.) Again the fact of 
physical healing through Christ becomes the basis for be¬ 
lief in Him as the Savior from sin. 

VIII. We next notice some “special miracles by the 
hand of Paul.” He who once “made havoc of the Church” 
“now preaches the faith that he had so ardently labored to 
destroy.” He began at the headquarters of the enemy’s 
camp. “For two years he disputed daily in the school of 
one Tyrannus.” The result was that “all they who dwelt 
in Asia Minor heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both 
Jews and Greeks. And God wrought special miracles by 
the hands of Paul; so that from his body were brought 
handkerchiefs or aprons unto the sick, and the diseases 
departed from them and evil spirits went out of them.” 
(Acts 19.) 

IX. “Whom the world cannot receive ” “Then cer¬ 
tain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to 
call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord 
Jesus, saying, We adjure thee by Jesus whom Paul preacli- 
eth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew and 
chief of the priests, who did so, And the spirit answered 


144 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


and said, Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are ye? 
And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them 
and overcame them and prevailed against, them, so that 
they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this 
was known to all the Jews and Greeks at Ephesus; and 
fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was 
magnified. And many that believed came and confessed 
and showed their deeds. Many of them also which used 
curious arts brought their books and burned them before 
all men; and they counted the price of them, and found 
it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So mightily grew the 
word of the Lord and prevailed.” One can scarcely read 
this bit of history without smiling. See those vagabond 
Jews, exorcists, eager to find out a new method of casting 
out demons; hear them debate; listen to their decision— 
the power is in one called Jesus. Mark their reasoning: 
“Paul can cast them out in His name, and why not we?” 
This sounds very much like some modern teaching. Their 
charm is carefully worded; the test is made; but the un¬ 
expected happened: for the closing scene woke up all Eph¬ 
esus. The evil spirits held their ground, and the seven 
sons of Sceva fled out of that house naked and wounded. 
What a fine commentary on the Lord’s saying: “No man 
shall do a miracle in My name that can lightly speak evil 
of Me.” (Mark 9 :39; John 14:17; Acts 19 :13-20; 2 Cor. 
10:4-5.) 

X. The Lord Jesus vs. the gods of heathenism. The 
proclamation of the Lordship of Jesus not only alleged 
against the rulers of the Jews the guilt of murdering the 
Christ, but it opposed and sought to overthrow every form 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


145 


of idolatry and to uproot every pagan institution with 
which it came into contact. Hear Demetrius, the silver¬ 
smith at Ephesus, reason on this subject: “Sirs, ye know 
that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see 
and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost through¬ 
out all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away 
much people, saying they be no gods which are made with 
hands; so that not only this our craft is in danger to be 
set at naught, but also that the temple of the goddess 
Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be 
destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth.” What 
a fine example of organizing a spiritual mob! What a 
splendid specimen of oratory! Demetrius’ purse had been 
touched a “teeny-wee bit,” and the bottom was in dan¬ 
ger of falling out. His craftsmen were in similar dan¬ 
ger. That was a small affair, however, but then their re¬ 
ligious interests were imperiled. Hot only theirs, but that 
of all Ephesus—all Asia and the world. What was to be 
done? Yell for Diana, of course. Zeal for Diana “cre¬ 
ated no small stir.” But the uproar must be quieted: so 
the Jews called out Alexander to make their defense —to 
show that the Jews were not the cause of the tumult. “But 
when they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one voice 
for about the space of two hours cried out, ‘Great is Diana 
of the Ephesians!’” At length the town clerk comes 
forward to quiet the tumult; and we may safely say, no 
orator ever excelled him. He meets fear for Diana with 
perfect calmness, and doubt with full assurance: (1) “Ye 
men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how 
that the city of the Ephesians is a worshiper of the great 
—~ 10 — 


146 


EOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from 
Jupiter ?” Everybody knew, of course. "Seeing, then, that 
these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be 
quiet and to do nothing rashly.” No danger for Diana! 
(2) "As for these men ye have brought hither, they are 
neither robbers of churches nor yet blasphemers of your 
goddess”: they are innocent of the charges. (3) "Where¬ 
fore if Demetrius and his craftsmen have a matter against 
any man, there are courts, and there are lawyers to plead 
for them.” (4) "But if ye would inquire anything con¬ 
cerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful 
assembly.” And, finally, "We are in danger to be called 
in question for this day’s uproar.” And yet, after all, 
Diana was in real danger. 

The forecast of Demetrius is verified in history. 
Wherever the gospel has gone, heathen temples have crum¬ 
bled into ruins, and with these have departed the false gods 
and all the disgusting and cruel practices of false relig¬ 
ions. And wherever this gospel has not come, gods many 
and lords many are yet to be found; the rites and cere¬ 
monies of false religions, as cruel, disgusting, and debas¬ 
ing as those of ancient Greece, Ephesus, and Borne, fill 
their votaries with ignorance and vice, superstition, and 
death. “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation 
unto every one that believeth.” (Bom. l;16 t ) 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


147 


IV. 

THE WORLD-WIDE KINGDOM: CHRIST’S CON¬ 
CEPTION UNIQUE. 

The Jewish conception of the Messianic kingdom was 
fundamentally false. (See pp. 78-81.) Their conception 
of it as an earthly kingdom having an earthly king, reign¬ 
ing at Jerusalem; at whose capital all male worshipers 
must assemble three times a year; and that flesh and not 
spirit, Abrahamic olood and not Abrahamic faith, that 
fleshly descent from Abraham and not a spiritual relation¬ 
ship to him, entitled to citizenship ,—excluded from their 
minds the real nature of that kingdom. (Jno. 4:20-24; 
Luke 17:20; Jno. 19:36-37.) 

Again: Their conception, that fleshly descent from 
Abraham entitles to citizenship, excluded from their minds 
the conception of the world-wide extent of that kingdom: 
for plainly all nations were not descended from Abraham. 
The effort to fasten circumcision upon the Gentiles (Acts 
15), as the basis of extension, is plainly an after-thought 
impossible of execution and utterly inconsistent with the 
original provision: “All born in thy house or purchased 
with thy money” marks the limit. The Jews were incapa¬ 
ble of conceiving an efficient basis for citizenship. They 
had no principle susceptible of world-wide application. 
(See John 4:20-24.) 

Again; They not only misconceived the nature of the 


148 


FOREGLEAMS IN NxlTURE 


kingdom and the spiritual basis of citizenship, but they 
utterly failed to grasp the foundation fact; viz., the Lord- 
ship of the Messiah. (1 Pet. 2:6-8; Isa. 28:16; Micah 4:2; 
Acts 2:36; Matt. 22:41-45; Matt. 16:16-18.) 

Again: The method of laying that foundation-stone 
was unknown and unknowable to the Jews and even His 
apostles prior to His death and resurrection. “The Christ 
abideth forever: and how sayest Thou, the Son of Man 
must be lifted up?” (John 12:34; Matt. 16:22; Mark 
9:10; Luke 24:21; 1 Cor. 1:17-25; Luke 24:46; Rom. 
1:4.) 

Again: The method and means of building individu¬ 
als into that spiritual temple as living stones, into that 
kingdom “as fellow-citizens,” were unknown and unknowa¬ 
ble to the Jews and His apostles prior to the first Pente¬ 
cost after His resurrection. (Luke 24:13-28, 36-53; Acts 
2 and 10; Rom. 1:16.) “Preach the gospel.” “Tt cometh 
not with observation.” 

Christ’s conception is unique: it is that of a world¬ 
wide kingdom established and maintained by a world-wide 
Ruler through that Ruler’s being a world-wide Savior. He 
would build His kingdom upon the rock of His Sonship 
(Matt. 16:16-18); and though tried by the test which has 
overthrown all other kingdoms, that rock would stand in 
all its glory: “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against 
it.” Then it would be known that He is the Son of God 
(Rom. 1:4), and able to save to the uttermost all who will 
come to God by Him. By parable and direct teaching, He 
utters principles as eternal as the throne of the universe 
and discloses the steps in the growth pf His kingdom fron* 


OE REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


149 


its incipiency to its final consummation. He forecast it 
all with perfect precision. 

Human nature is essentially the same in all ages and 
in all climes. A world-wide Savior must meet the deepest 
needs of the human soul. Man is conscious of guilt. He 
fears punishment and longs for approval. His soul cries 
out for an abiding peace and longs for everlasting life. 
Nothing short of an assurance of pardon, an abiding peace, 
and a well-grounded hope of immortality, will satisfy the 
souL This fountain of perpetual youth, this well of water 
within springing up unto everlasting life, must be supplied 
or human life is a failure. But how these needs could be 
met God alone knew; and hence He alone could reveal. 
(Matt. 11:27; 1 Cor. 1:21.) Socrates felt the need of a 
Divine Teacher, and said: “We must await the Teacher 
from God.” “In due time He came and taught as one 
having authority.” “Never man spake like this man.” 
We have already shown what lay back of that' tone of 
authority as well as the authority of the message. We 
may deny His account of Himself, but we can not ex¬ 
plain Him without admitting His claims. A divine life, 
a divine spirit, a divine compassion, a divine love, a divine 
sacrifice speak, through the Man of Galilee, a divine mes¬ 
sage to the whole world. “I am the way, the truth, and 
the life: and no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” 
We accept Him implicitly: and the sense of guilt rolls 
away. We follow Him: and an abiding peace which the 
world can neither give nor take away fills the soul. We 
listen to His voice from yonder world: and the veil of the 
future is rent in twain, the darkness of the tomb gives 


150 


FOREGLEAMS IN' NATURE 


way to trailing clouds of glory, and the gate of immortal¬ 
ity stands ajar. Skeptics may cavil, but these facts re¬ 
main. They are not for the Christian alone: for we read, 
“If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the 
doctrine.” And again: “If ye continue in My word, then 
are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, 
and the truth shall make you free.” We accept Him, we 
obey Him, and thus we come to know. But we close this 
paragraph with a query: If “the wisest, the purest, the 
noblest, and kingliest of the sons of men” cannot point out 
the way, who will lead our race back to God? 

Jesus died on the cross. A dead man cannot establish 
and maintain a kingdom. But the kingdom of Christ is 
here. It could not begin before Christ became king. That 
fact could be known only by a proclamation from the eter¬ 
nal throne. (1 Cor. 12 :3.) This came through the power 
from on high. (Acts 2.) The evidence addressed the eye, 
the ear and the consciousness of the hearers. It reached 
the experience of those who accepted the Christ. It was 
evidenced to others through “signs and wonders and divers 
miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit,” until further mi¬ 
raculous proof would add no new weight to their testi¬ 
mony. (Luke 16 :31.) ^Now these proofs were given prior 
to the record several years; and those to whom the epistles 
were written are said directly or by implication to have 
witnessed them; so that the epistles could not have been 
forged. (Heb. 2:1-4.) 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


151 


V. 

WHEN AND BY WHOM WRITTEN,? 

Christianity is expressly declared by its Author to be a 
world-wide religion: “In all the world” (Matt. 26:13), 
“among all nations” (Luke 24:47), “to every creature” 
(Mark 16:15). His death was accomplished “to save their 
place and nation.” This was Caiaphas* doctrine of expe¬ 
diency. (John 11:50.) But Jesus said, “And I, if I be 
lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.” (Jno. 
12:32.) Everthing conspired to make His death the most 
public event in all history. Roman soldiers arrested Him: 
the Sanhedrin condemned Him: a Roman governor thrice 
adjudged Him innocent, and then sentenced Him to death. 
And Roman officials executed Him in the presence of a vast 
multitude: for it was during the Passover, when hundreds 
of thousands had assembled for worship; and hence we 
read, “A great company of people followed Him” to the 
place of crucifixion. The true Paschal Lamb was being 
offered: but those worshipers breathed no prayer as they 
were wont to do on that memorable occasion. One alone 
was heard to say, “Father, forgive them: for they know 
not what they do.” 

Nor needed the}^, as the High Priest of our profession 
sprinkled the blood before the altar, to listen, with breath¬ 
less anxiety, to hear the tinkling of bells, in order to know 
that the atonement for the sins of the whole world was 
being accepted: for God was writing the answer in large 


152 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


letters in the darkening of the sun, and in the rending 
of the rocks, and in “the veil of the temple rent in twain 
from top to bottom.” Above His head, His accusation 
was written in Latin and Greek and Hebrew, “Jesus of 
Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” At the foot of the 
cross sat Roman soldiers parting His garments, and for 
His seamless coat casting lots. (John 19:23-24.) A 
thief on His right hand made a dying request, “Lord, re¬ 
member me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom”; and 
Jesus made answer, “Verily I say unto thee. To-day shait 
thou be with Me in Paradise.” The centurion exclaimed, 
“Truly this was the Son of God.” A Roman soldier 
thrust a spear into His side to remove all doubt of 
His death: “They shall look* on Him whom they have 
pierced.” A little later, by turns, Roman soldiers paced 
to and fro to guard the Mighty Sleeper in the tomb. 
But early the third morn, those Roman guards saw an 
angel descend and roll away the stone and sat upon it: 
“and for fear of him we did quake and became as dead 
men,” said they to the Sanhedrin. It required “large 
money” to still the voice of truth and induce them to say: 
“His disciples came by night and stole Him away while 
we slept.” But the fact that His disciples “did eat and 
drink with Him after His resurrection”; gazed upon His 
familiar form and features; heard, time and again, that 
familiar voice and tone speaking to them concerning the 
kingdom of God; witnessed His ascent from their midst 
into the cloud of glory; and were conscious of the pres¬ 
ence in them of a divine power in His name, a power at¬ 
tended with remarkable proofs addressed to the eye, the 


OP REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


153 


ear, and the very consciousness of His murderers on the 
next Pentecost after His resurrection ,—all this rendered 
deception on their part impossible. 

Besides, this proclamation of the resurrection thus 
confirmed not only fastened on the rulers the sense of 
guilt for murdering the Christ, but it, at the same time, 
established His Sonship and His Lordship (Rom. 1:4; 
Acts 2:36; 1 Cor. 12:3), and hence also His authority as 
the sole teacher of God to man. The rulers perceived 
fully the weight of this proclamation, and said, “Ye in¬ 
tend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” Again we read: 
“They were grieved because they taught the people and 
preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.” 
But this is not all: for the very foundation of Judaism 
and the false hopes of Israel were being swept away by 
the proclamation and confirmation of this fact. The real 
ground for the true hope of Israel, Paul taught, lay in 
their resurrection from the dead; and that “Jesus Christ 
had brought life and immortality to light through the 
gospel” of the risen Lord. His resurrection as the fed¬ 
eral Head of the race establishes the fact of our resurrec¬ 
tion: (1) that man will live in a body beyond the grave; 
and (2) His resurrection “in an immortal body” as the 
firstfruits establishes the fact that His followers will be 
raised with “immortal bodies”: for immortality is never 
predicated of the soul or spirit. Spirits are nowhere said 
to die—cease to exist. (Acts 26:6.) 

“The power of an endless life,” grounded upon the 
fact of the spirit being clothed with an immortal body, 
was taking hold on the people and turning them away 


154 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


from their former false hopes of an earthly kingdom to 
that of a spiritual and world-wide reign of Christ as their 
Messiah; which hope would be consummated in “the inher¬ 
itance that is incorruptible and undefiled, and that fades 
not away, reserved in heaven for all the faithful." Do 
not overlook the fact that the hope of “immortality" is 
grounded on the fact of Christ’s resurrection “in an im¬ 
mortal body." In a word, the rulers saw in the progress 
of this new religion: (1) their own guilt of murder; 
(2) their loss of power over the people; and (3) the down¬ 
fall of their religion: and hence they sought to annihilate 
the new religion from the face of the earth. But this was 
impossible: for “a multitude of the priests had already 
become obedient to the faith." The fires of persecution 
only widened and strengthened their faith; and, besides, 
in trying to crush out the new religion, its chief perse¬ 
cutor was converted and began his life-long effort to build 
up that faith which formerly he had so ardently sought to 
destroy. So public and so clearly attested were the foun¬ 
dation facts that Peter was able to preach to a Roman 
centurion and his household: (1) “That word ye know 
which was published throughout all Judea; (2) how God 
anointed Jesus of Nazareth [at His baptism]; (3) Who 
went about doing good; (4) Whom they slew and hanged 
on a tree; (5) Whom God raised up the third day and 
showed Him openly [not by the dim light of a lamp] ; 
(6) even to us who did eat and drink with Him after He 
rose from the dead." And again: In that memorable 
defense before Agrippa, Paul could say, “I am not mad, 
most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth 


OP REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


155 


and soberness. For the king knoweth of these things, 
before whom I also speak freely: for I am persuaded that 
none of these things are hidden from Him: for this thing 
was not done in a comer.” (Acts 26:26.) But this gos¬ 
pel soon overstepped the bounds of Judaism and entered 
upon its world-wide conquest: it came into contact with 
paganism with all its false gods. We have already cited 
the stir among the worshipers of Diana. Nor would that 
conflict be a bloodless one: the Church was destined to be 
baptized in suffering, as had been its Leader. Ten bitter 
persecutions awaited it before there came the shout of vic¬ 
tory : “They overcame by the blood of the Lamb; and by 
the word of their testimony; and they loved not their 
lives unto the death.” “We do not war after the flesh,” 
said another; “for our weapons are not carnal, but mighty 
through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting 
down imaginations, .... and bringing into cap¬ 
tivity every thought, to the obedience of C'hrist ” (2 Cor. 

10: 3-5.) 

But the Church had also cunning, designing, and 
crafty foes within, who sought preeminence along new 
lines: they sought to fasten upon the Gentile converts the 
rite of circumcision and the necessity for keeping the 
law of Moses (Acts 15; Gal. 2:4, 3:22-29; 4:10-11); and 
succeeded in getting some of the church of Galatia “to 
observe days” (sabbaths}, “and months” (new moons), 
“and times” (the feasts), “and years” (the annual gath¬ 
erings). Under these circumstances, the churches demand¬ 
ed the clearest evidence in favor of the cardinal facts of the 
gospel, and the best possible safeguards against deception. 


156 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


No second-hand evidence would meet the needs of the new' 
converts: and had not those needs been met, the Church 
must have gone down: for persecutions and sufferings were 
so bitter and so severe as to have swept the new faith from 
its moorings, had not the evidence been thoroughly reliable 
and conclusive. These were times that tested the construct¬ 
ive powers of the new religion. 

We have had our Washington, our Hamilton, our Mor¬ 
ris, our Jefferson, our Adams, our Franklin, our Greene, 
our Gates, and a host of helpers, who were eminent leaders 
in the Revolution, and in the framing of our Constitu¬ 
tion, in securing its adoption, and putting it into opera¬ 
tion. These were all well known—not a "great unknown” 
among them. So, too, in the Church of Christ, in that 
formative and constructive period we had “our apostles, 
our prophets, our evangelists, our pastors and teachers” 
(Eph. 4:11-13), and a host of helpers bringing aid to 
our leaders and carrying back from them letters to the 
churches. At times this demanded much secrecy: hence 
we had our pass-words, our mode of greeting, our letters 
of introduction; so that in time all our principal leaders 
were well known to the churches personally or by repu¬ 
tation. We, too, had no “great unknowns Some were 
so well known to the first converts that their productions 
needed no signature: their familiar form and features 
and voice and speech and arguments were transferred to 
their letters, and their personal allusions to the past made 
deception impossible. However, notes may have accom¬ 
panied some of these documents. Could not Timothy and 
Titus and Philemon know that familiar hand, and of 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


157 


whom they were receiving instruction? Could not the 
“elect lady” know from whom she received that small note, 
containing a caution against receiving deceivers, and clos¬ 
ing with a greeting from her “elect sister”? (John 2.) 
And is it possible that the writer from the lonely Isle of 
Patmos, banished “for the word of God and for the tes¬ 
timony of Jesus Christ,” was unknown to those for whom 
he wrote? Listen again to the “prisoner of the Lord,” 
“the ambassador in bonds,” calling for his “cloak left at 
Troas” (needed, no doubt, in that dark prison) and “for 
the parchments,” as he gives a final assurance in those 
words that will sound down through the ages: “I am 
now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is 
at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up 
for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the 
righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not fco 
me only, but unto all them also that love'His appearing.” 
(2 Tim. 4:6-8.) Could Timothy be mistaken? Could Phi¬ 
lemon be deceived, when Onesimus brought back that mas¬ 
terly note? Nay, verily. Could Gaius be mistaken when 
“the brethren from him” brought back a note from “the 
elder” ? 

We get a little insight into a tone of authority in that 
reference to “Diotrephes who loved to have the preemi¬ 
nence.” (John 3:9-10.) “I will remember his deeds,” 
said the apostle, “if I come.” But Jude, “the brother of 
James,” gave all diligence to write unto the Church at 
large “of the common salvation” for Jew and Greek. The 
needs of the Church demanded an exhortation from an 



158 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


original witness to the effect that “they should contend 
earnestly for the faith which was, once for all, delivered 
unto the saints.” He warns against certain men that had 
crept into the Church unawares—“ungodly men, turning 
the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the 
only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” “The apos¬ 
tles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you that there should be 
such mockers.” (17-18.) Could they have been deceived 
as to the writer? 

I. The foundation facts were put into permanent 
form by witnesses of the first class. This fact the Church 
certainly did know, for it was of primary importance: and 
hence we have the four gospels written to prove that 
“■Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ” and that life comes 
through His name. (John 20:30-31.) 

II. The proclamation of the fundamental facts and 
the establishing of the new religion are given by a com¬ 
panion of the apostle to the Gentiles; who heard him 
preach, and who conversed with him and with the orig¬ 
inal twelve,—- in order to make known unto the most excel¬ 
lent Theophilus the certainty of those things wherein he 
had been instructed. (See Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1; Acts 
20:5-6, 13-15.) Xote the pronoun “we” to the close of 
Acts. 

III. The epistles contain instructions concerning how 
Christians should live, warnings against false teachers, 
the reasons for the new faith, and the necessity of hold¬ 
ing out faithful to the end. They either assert or assume 
that the persons addressed had heard the foundation facts 
proclaimed orally by competent witnesses* and that the 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


159 


gospel so preached had been confirmed by signs and won¬ 
ders and miracles in their very midst. (Heb. 2:1-4.) If 
we will remember the close relationship between an orig¬ 
inal proclaimer of the gospel and his converts; between a 
minister and his own son in the gospel; the necessary cor¬ 
respondence between them and the intimate friendship 
that would grow out of such relationship during times of 
persecution arising from the common cause; and, in addi¬ 
tion, will exercise a little sober sense derived from our own 
experiences in detecting the familiar hand, the address, 
the allusions to the past, the references to persons known 
to us and the writers, and the forms of expression as pecu¬ 
liar as the features of the writers themselves—the impos¬ 
sibility of forgery of the New Testament books will, we 
think, appear very evident. 

IV. But the last book is the gospel of victory. Ban¬ 
ished to the lonely Isle of Patmos, away from his breth¬ 
ren in Christ and the churches he had loved and ministered 
to so long, his eyes directed to the dim outlines of scenes 
he loved so w^ell, and his thoughts resting upon the future 
prospects of the gospel and upon the foundations of his 
own hope through Christ ,—“the writer was in the spirit 
on the Lord’s day ” Just what he needed most was grant¬ 
ed him; and just what those churches and all others need 
would be given. A vision of the glorified Christ is given, 
and letters are indited by the Redeemer and written by 
John to be carried by the angels of the seven churches. 
These ministers, while he was not permitted to visit the 
churches, would carry his messages to them. The lan¬ 
guage g§§ms to say, “Get them ready, Johu, fqr tfye mcs* 


160 


FOREGLEAMS IN' NATURE 


sengers are coming to carry them back.” The letters are 
written. They commend, reprove, and hold out the star 
of hope, to all the faithful, of some day being with Him 
in glory. It seems a long road to glory, perhaps because 
man has traveled far away. This is true of the individ¬ 
ual, and it would also be true of the Church. Bitter per¬ 
secutions awaited it: but as the book of the future un¬ 
folded, John hears the shouts of victory, till at last he 
sees the new heavens and the new earth where the trou¬ 
bled sea of humanity should be no more: but where, in “im¬ 
mortal bodies,” “all tears should be wiped from the eyes 
of the saints: and there shall be no more death, neither 
sorrow nor crying; neither shall there be any more pain: 
for the former things are passed away.” (Kev. 21:22.) 
Those messengers knew who wrote that book. 

The triumph of the gospel over Judaism and pagan¬ 
ism and the enemies within, in so short a time, may well 
be styled the miracle of conquest. But if we assume with 
some critics that “We don’t know who wrote the Hew Tes¬ 
tament,” and conclude with them that no one else knows, 
not even the early Christians knew,—then the miracle of 
conquest is increased a thousand-fold: for on that suppo¬ 
sition “some great unknowns " assumed a set of facts, en¬ 
listed a corps of proclaimers, deceived all their hearers, 
wrote letters and books in defense of their assumptions, 
and turned the world upside down. 

But the above line of reasoning, while establishing the 
fact that the original proclaimers of the gospel wrote the 
Hew Testament, also fixes with reasonable certainty the 
dcttes of those books: certainly all within the first century. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


161 


There is, however, a shorter and perhaps clearer method 
of fixing the dates; viz., that which makes the downfall of 
Jerusalem the key-note. That event and the consequent 
downfall of their religion in 70 A. D. forever set aside the 
Jewish claim to the permanency of the Law of Moses; and 
at the same time furnished the most decisive proof that 
the Christ had come. (Gen. 49:10; Deut. 18:15-18; Mai. 
3:1.) 

From this event the priority of the dates of the Gos¬ 
pels and Acts can be fixed to a moral certainty. The pre¬ 
diction of the overthrow of Jerusalem had been made by 
Christ and was a matter of common knowledge. (John 4: 
21; Matt. 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6.) The death of 
Stephen grew out of his uttering what the Jews considered 
blasphemous words against Moses and the Temple. (Acts 
6:13-15.) 

Paul was arrested on the charge of “teaching all men 
everywhere against the people, and the lav/, and this holy 
place: and further brought Greeks also into the Temple 
and hath polluted this holy place.” (Acts 21:28.) His 
history is minutely traced from that arrest till he arrives 
at Rome, “a prisoner of the Lord,” not later than A. D. 
61, as may be known from the date of Festus’ rule. Acts 
leaves him teaching in his own hired house. How had 
Paul been beheaded prior to the date of Acts, it is passing 
strange that no mention is made of the last scene of his 
life. 

But had Jerusalem fallen prior to the date of Acts, it 
is still more unaccountable that no mention is made of 
that event in support of the claims of Christianity against 
— 11 — 


162 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


the permanency of the Jewish religion: for the transitory 
nature of Judaism is seen in that downfall. Besides, the 
historian of the new faith could not fail to point out the 
fulfillment of the predictions of its Founder and those of 
its chief leaders, one of whom was on trial for his life, in 
defense of their claims. Would an accurate historian omit 
such an important event as the downfall of the chosen 
nation? And would a very able counsel omit the strong¬ 
est argument in the case ? The foundation of a conclusive 
argument against the permanency of the Jewish religion 
is laid by the Founder of Christianity, but not a single 
writer of the New Testament ever completes the argument 
by citing the essential fact in the case. They everywhere 
allude to the Temple and its worship as an existing insti¬ 
tution at the time of their writing. The argument in 
Romans, Galatians, and the Hebrew letters assumes— 
indeed, alleges, that the Temple was standing and the 
Jewish worship an existing fact at the time of writing. 
Paul argues: (1) The common guilt of Jew and Greek; 
(2) the common need of salvation; (3) the common Sav¬ 
ior for both Jew and Gentile; (4 the common sacrifice 
for all; (5) the common salvation through faith, and not 
works of law: (6) the common standing before God in the 
gospel; and (7) the common hope for Jew and Gentile. 
The references to “the collection for the poor saints at 
Jerusalem”; to “the prisoner of the Lord” from the Ro¬ 
man prison; to the opposition of Judaizing teachers; ana 
to persons then living, both in and out of the Church,— 
makes forgery impossible and fixes the dates before the 
downfall of Jerusalem. We submit the following for a 
Bible reading: 


OF RELEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


163 


The Roman letter was written prior to Paul’s visit to 
Rome. (Rom. 1:13.) He alleges that he wrought many 
signs and wonders by the Holy Spirit to cause the Gentiles 
to believe. (Rom. 15:15-20.) Had this allegation been 
false, his letter would never have gained credence. 

The Corinthian epistles could not have been forged. 
The testimony of Christ was confirmed in the church at 
Corinth. (1 Cor. 1:5-6; 2:1-13; 9:1-2; 12:1-10; 15:1-8; 
16:12; 17-18. 2 Cor. 1:19; 3 :1-16; 7 :6-8; 11:1-5; 12:12.) 
Eye-witnesses of the resurrection were living when this 
epistle was written. (1 Cor. 15:6.) 

The Galatian epistle could not have been forged. (1: 

6- 9, 23; 3:1-5; 4:13-14.) 

The Ephesian epistle could not have been forged. (1: 
13; 3:1-9; 4:11-16, 30; 6:19-22.) 

The Philippian epistle could not have been forged. 
(1:3-6, 12-14; 2:25-29; 4:5, 15-18.) 

The Colossian epistle could not have been forged. (4: 

7- 10, 12-17.) 

The Thessalonian epistles could not have been forged. 
(1 Thess. 1:4-10; 2:1-2; 3:1-7; 5:27. 2 Thess. 2 :l-f7. 
Compare 1 Thess. 4:13-18.) 

The epistles to Timoth}^, to Titus, to Philemon bear 
upon their face the evidence of genuineness and the impos¬ 
sibility of forgery. 

Christ left no record. All our knowledge of Him comes 
through His apostles; and hence no man can believe in 
Christ and deny the record they gave of Him. And no 
man can believe that record, or any considerable portion 
of it, if he discards the miracles there recorded. The 


164 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


teaching is founded largely upon miracles. The miracle 
and teaching must stand or fall together. Christ’s mira¬ 
cles laid the foundation of His recognized authority and 
our belief in Him as the Savior from our sins. Does He 
feed the thousands in the desert? He is the bread of life. 
Does He speak the word of forgiveness? He then heals 
the paralytic by the word of His power. Does He claim 
to he the light of the world? He then restores sight to 
the blind from birth. Does He claim to be the resurrec¬ 
tion and the life ? He calls the dead back to their friends. 
Do we wish evidence of His world-wide authority? We 
have it in the transfiguration, where representatives from 
every state of man were present to witness His glory and 
to hear the Father command, “Hear ye Him.” That voice 
reaches the underworld. (John 5:25-29.) 

But His authority, as we have seen, rests, in its last 
analysis, upon the fact of His Lordship; for this fact alone 
gives weight to all His promises and all His threats, and 
without which they must be void of meaning. To speak 
of Him as the wisest of teachers, the noblest and kingliest 
of men, and yet—mistaken! and this, too, in the light of 
what He has done and is now doing for man, is to confess 
one’s self lacking in sober sense or common honesty. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


165 


VI. 

A CHAPTER ON THE RESURRECTION. 

It will be conceded by all: 

1. That an impostor could not raise himself, and that 
God would not raise an impostor. 

2. That if Jesus rose, He was not an impostor, but 
what He claimed to be; viz., the Son of God (Rom. 1:4) 
and Lord (Matt. 22:43-45). 

3. But if Jesus is the Son of God, He has all author¬ 
ity and must be obeyed upon the penalty of condemnation. 
(Mark 16.) 

DIRECT TESTIMONY. 

This is found in 1 Cor. 15 :l-8. It is conceded by all 
critics of note that this epistle was written by Paul, the 
apostle to the Gentiles. The direct claim of Pauline 
authorship is made (1:1) : that the writer “had baptized 
some of the church at Corinth” (1:14); that he “had 
planted them” (3 :16); that “they were the seal of his apos- 
tleship” (9 :1); that more than two hundred and fifty eye¬ 
witnesses of the fact of Christ’s resurrection were living at 
the time of his writing (15:8); and finally, that it was 
written before the fall of Jerusalem: for the writer was 
collecting aid for the poor saints at Jerusalem (16:1-4). 
“He had conversed with Peter, and James,” the Lord’s 
brother (Gal. 1:18-19), and no doubt with many others 
who saw Jesus after His resurrection. Besides, his own 


166 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


vision of Christ (15:8), and the great moral and spiritual 
change wrought in himself, and his life-long labors in the 
face of manifold perils and sufferings in preaching that 
gospel which before his conversion he so persistently 
sought to obliterate from the face of the earth, gives addi¬ 
tional weight to the above. (Acts 9; 22; 26; Rom. 8:35- 
39; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; 6:4-10; 11:23-33.) He stands firm, 
and writes as one who knows what he affirms to be true: 
“Moreover, brethren, I now declare unto you the same gos¬ 
pel which I preached unto you; the same gospel which you 
then received as true; the same gospel in which you now 
stand; that gospel by which you shall be saved— if you 
keep in memory what I preached unto you —unless, per¬ 
chance, it be false and you have believed in vain.” 

His gospel had a few foundation facts overlooked and 
even ignored by some modern seers and dreamers: “I de¬ 
livered unto you first of all.(1) that Christ 

died for our sins according to the Scriptures; (2) that He 
was buried” according to the Scriptures; (3) “and that He 
rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” 
(Isa. 53; Psa. 16 :10.) 

He proceeds to give the direct proof: He was seen 
(1) of Cephas (Luke 24:34); (2) then of “the twelve”'— 
that is the apostolic band— of ten on the first day of the 
week, the same day on which He arose (Jno. 20:19-23); 
and a week later of the eleven (Jno. 20:26-29) ; (3) after 
that, of above five hundred brethren at once (Matt. 28: 
16-17); (4) after that, of James, and Paul had conversed 
with him; (5) then of all the apostles at the ascension 
(Luke 24:50-53); and (6) “last of all, of me also as one 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


167 


born out of due time” (15:1-8). Upon these facts, sup¬ 
ported by prophecy and by the testimony of eye-witnesses, 
all the early churches were established. Nothing short of 
absolute certainty could have induced the early proclaim¬ 
ed of the gospel to have promulgated such facts in the 
face of dangers and death itself; and hence Paul gives us 

THE INDIRECT PROOF. 

I. LET US SUPPOSE THAT JESUS DID NOT RISE. 

On this supposition the following conclusions must nec¬ 
essarily follow: 

1. That the apostles of Christ were false witnesses of 
God: for they testified that God raised Jesus from the 
dead. (1 Cor. 15.) 

2. That believers in Christ are yet in their sins: since 
Christ is among the dead. 

3. That all the dead in Christ have perished— i. e., the 

gates of hades have prevailed. 1 

4. That the faith of the Christian is vain: the heav¬ 
enly mansions become but dreams. 

5. That the apostles of Christ were of all men the 
most miserable: for they were, on this supposition, not 
only the greatest of liars and deceivers, but they lost their 
standing in society, gained a life of persecution and suf¬ 
fering, and finally suffered death for promulgating a car¬ 
dinal falsehood! (Acts 4:2, 28-33; Acts 26.) 

To this reasoning of Paul we add another item: 

6. That a dead man has performed the miracle of the 
ages in establishing and maintaining His kingdom with¬ 
out a shadow of proof for the cardinal fact! Liars and 


168 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


deceivers (for they must have known, if Jesus did not rise , 
that they were falsifying and deceiving) have given to the 
world the best code of morals extant! And that code of 
morals and ethics is made to rest upon the cardinal false¬ 
hood of the resurrection! ! 

II. BUT LET US SUPPOSE THAT JESUS DID RISE. 

On this supposition the following conclusions necessa¬ 
rily follow: 

1. That the apostles of Christ were not false witnesses 
of God. 

2. That Christians are not yet in their sins. 

3. That the dead in Christ have not perished. 

4. That the Christian’s faith in Christ and immortal¬ 
ity and eternal life is not vain. 

5. That the apostles of Christ were not of all men 
most miserable, but were the ntost highly honored and will 
be eternally happy. 

6. And, finally, the founding and the maintaining and 
the increase of His kingdom rest upon the incontestable 
facts of His resurrection and of His inauguration as King 
upon the throne of the universe. 

No men ever gave better evidence of sincerity than did 
the apostles of Jesus Christ in proclaiming the resurrection 
and the authority of Christ. In doing so, they publicly 
arraigned the rulers of murdering the Christ; so that after 
a life of continual sacrifice and suffering they sealed their 
testimony with their blood. No better summary of the 
method of conquest is to be found than that given in Rev. 
12 :11: C( They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


169 


(shed by the Sanhedrin) and by the ivord of their testi¬ 
mony (to the fact of His resurrection, His ascension. 
His coronation, and His presence in His apostles and 
the Church), and they loved not their lives unto the 
death ." (See p. 121.) They not only testified under 
oath before the Sanhedrin, but they confirmed their testi¬ 
mony by miracles, and their sincerity by their blood. If 
there be any sanctity in an oath, surely we have it here. 
Their cross-examination of sufferings (2 Cor. 11:23-33; 
6:4-10; Acts 26) was so severe as to have broken down all 
direct testimony had it been false. But the facts of Christ’s 
death, of His burial, of His resurrection, of His ascen¬ 
sion, of His coronation, as evidenced by the presence of a 
divine power in His name , were such as to render decep¬ 
tion on their part impossible. Their sincerity cannot be 
doubted; and hence it follows that the resurrection of Jesus 
is an established fact, or all history is incredible. (Read 
Isa. 53:10-12.) 

Paul next calls special attention to the character of 
Christ's resurrection: “He became the firstfruits of them 
that slept.” All others raised by prophets and by Christ 
came forth mortals: the change of immortality did not 
pass upon them. But of Jesus it is written, and that, too, 
in clear view of the ascension and of His glory from the 
other world, “Death hath no more dominion over Him.” 
.We read that “Abraham is dead and the prophets are dead” 
(John 8:53); that “David had not yet ascended into heav¬ 
en” (Acts 2 :29); and that righteous Abel was dead, but 
his faith was speaking when Paul wrote to the Hebrews 
(11:4). Moses was certainly yet under the dominion of 


170 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


death when he appeared on the holy mount: for "Christ is 
the firstfruits.” The notion that we rise as we die, and at 
death ascend to heaven, is as baseless as a dream. 

He advances another step: Christ is not only the first- 
fruits, but He is the federal Head of a spiritual race: /or 
we read, "By man,” the first Adam, "came death”; and 
"by man,” the last Adam, the Lord from heaven, "came 
also the resurrection of the dead.” Jesus says, "All that 
are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth.” 

There are orders in the resurrection: for we read, ‘Ev¬ 
ery man in his own order.” “Christ the firstfruits” is the 
first order. "Afterward, they that are Christ’s at His com¬ 
ing.” "The dead in Christ shall rise first” (1 Thess. 4: 
13-18), after which event, the saints, then living and who 
have never tasted death, shall be changed in a moment 
into immortal beings and be caught up together to meet 
the Lord in the air. This is the second order. Evidently 
there will be a third order; for we read: "All the dead 
shall come forth: they that have done evil unto the res¬ 
urrection of damnation.” "God now commands all men 
everywhere to repent: because He has appointed a day in 
the which He will judge the world in righteousness by 
that man whom He has ordained: of which fact He has 
given assurance unto all men in that He has raised Him 
from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31.) "We must all appear.” 

But it is urged, Since God is no respecter of per¬ 
sons, if there be a future life, very likely all will have 
an even start. Very likely that untutored souls will be¬ 
come Newtons! That those who have lived and labored 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


171 


all their lives only to overthrow the religion of Jesus 
Christ will be honored with the chief seats in glory! 
And that moral lepers, whose vile speech and actions have 
poisoned the most sacred fountains of life and filled the 
earth with corruption and death, will occupy the same 
plane with the purest saint of earth! What transforming 
powers await man in death! And this is boasted reason! 
And yet it is every whit as sensible and far less danger¬ 
ous than that held by some modern seers who claim every 
power and every gift ever exercised by a Moses or a Daniel, 
Jesus, a Peter or a Paul. Ho respecter of persons, say 
they. “Why not speak to me ?” The skeptic replies: “fie 
would, but as He does not, He never spoke to anyone.” 
“In every nation , he that feareth Him and worketh right¬ 
eousness is accepted of Him.” Salvation belongs to the 
Gentile as w r ell as the Jew (Acts 10:34-35) is all that 
sober sense can get out of that passage. 

But some had inquired, “How are the dead raised up V’ 
This is the old Sadducean puzzle in a new dress. Before 
reading Paul’s answer, listen to the Master iii Luke 20: 
27-38. He there shows that His querists were in error: 
(1) because they did not know the Scriptures; and (2) be¬ 
cause they did not know the power of God. Their notion 
was, that death ends all, that the spirit dies with the body. 
The Master taught as follows: “Hundreds of years after 
the deaths of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, God said to 
Moses at the burning bush: H am the God of Abraham, 
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ How God is not 
a God of the dead— i. e., nonentities, but of the living: for 
all live unto Him. Those old patriarchs,” says the Savior, 


172 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


"though dead to man and to this world, were living unto 
Him.” So teach the Scriptures. As the Teacher from 
God and who knew, therefore, the state of man in the spirit 
world and in the resurrection state, He goes farther and 
plainly declares that marriage will not exist there: because 
the basis for such institutions—viz., flesh and it passions— 
will be wanting; and as the result of their not being mor¬ 
tal “they die no more”: “for they are equal unto the an¬ 
gels: and are the children of God, being the children of 
the resurrection,” evidently the second order mentioned by 
Paul. 

Paul argues from Nature the power of God to raise the 
dead: (1) That power, says he, is manifest in the growth 
of the plant from the seed. The seed dies, yet the plant 
comes forth; and “to each seed God gives its own body.” 
(2) that power is manifest in the infinite diversity of ani¬ 
mal forms from beginnings very similar, or, as some teach, 
identical. That Being who can cause to spring from the 
same soil, the same source, such endless variety of plant 
and animal life, can raise the dead. If one inquires con¬ 
cerning himself. Whence came my body ? How many bodies 
have I had ? How have they been gathered up from invisible 
particles borne from every nook and corner of this earth? 
—he will see the fool, though pretended scientist, back of 
the query, How are the dead raised up? (3) Paul next 
draws an argument from the immensity of the heavens and 
the number and vastness of the heavenly bodies. That Be¬ 
ing who framed and upholds all these surely can raise the 
dead. But just here one suggests that man is so insignifi¬ 
cant that God would take no account of him. And almost 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


173 


in the same breath he exalts man above God, and gravely 
assures us that “God is the noblest work of man”! What 
astute reasoners and what master mechanics they be! 

“With what body do they come V* He advances by way 
of contrast: there are celestial bodies as well as terrestrial 
bodies; and the glory of the former excels by far that of 
the latter. Celestial bodies differ in glory. The glory of 
the sun differs from that of the moon: the glory of the 
moon differs from that of the stars: and star differs from 
star in glory. So also does the resurrection body differ 
from the animal body. The one is sown—in corruption; 
the other is raised—in mcorruption. The one is sown— 
in dishonor; the other is raised—in glory. That pristine 
glory of Adam in innocence, that glory that shone from the 
face of Moses on the mount, and that excellent glory that 
beamed from Christ’s person on the Mount of Transfigura¬ 
tion, belongs to redeemed man. The one is sown in weak¬ 
ness ; the other is raised in power. The one is sown an ani¬ 
mal body; the other is raised a spiritual body. He proceeds: 

There is an animal body and there is a spiritual body. 
Adam the first possessed the former and the last Adam, 
after His resurrection, the latter. The order is, first the 
animal and afterward the spiritual. The first comes from 
the earth and is earthy; the second is from above and is 
heavenly. So are we, as related to Adam the first and to 
Adam the second. As we have borne the image of the 
earthy, the federal head of the animal man, we shall also 
bear the image of the heavenly—the federal head of the 
spiritual man. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be: 
but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like 


174 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2.) 
“Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” A 
change “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,” of this 
corruptible to an incorruptible, of this mortal to an im¬ 
mortal body passes upon man, and the undying spirit of 
man is safely sheltered in “its house not made with hands 
eternal in the heavens.” Such glory and honor and immor¬ 
tality brings the redeemed spirit into eternal life. And 
when “these vile bodies shall become fashioned like un¬ 
to His glorious body,” death shall be swallowed up in vic¬ 
tory. Death will then have lost its sting and the grave its 
power; and the redeemed will sing, “Thanks be to God, 
Who giveth us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.” 
This is the Christian’s vision, wholly born of revelation. 
It is a necessity to spiritual happiness and perfection, and 
is therefore not only possible and probable, but certain 
to be. 


V 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 175 


VII. 

JESUS THE SAVIOR OF THE SOUL. 

We base His claims to be the Savior of man upon the 
following premises: 

1. Supernatural facts addressed to the five senses in 
support of this higher claim. (Matt. 9:1-8; Luke 4:16- 
21; John 9:5; Acts 4:16.) 

2. That such facts were addressed to a host of enemies 
as well as friends, and in the open sunlight of heaven. 

3. That monumental and commemorative institutions 
expressive of His authority were instituted at or near the 
time of the facts which they are intended to perpetuate; 
as baptism, the Lord’s supper, and the Lord’s day. Vone 
of these could have been perpetuated if the facts of the 
death, the burial, the resurrection, and the Lordship of 
Christ had not been fully established: they would have 
lacked both significance and authority. 

4. Upon the fact of the perpetuity of these monuments 
among believers till the facts commemorated became mat¬ 
ters of general credence, and afterwards of genuine record 
by eye-witnesses and ear-witnesses. (Luke 1:1-4; John 
20:30-31; 1 John 1:1-4; 1 Pet. 1:12-21; Heb. 2:1-4.) 

5. That such record has come down to us unchanged 
as to essentials. (See pp. 149-163.) 

6. Upon the evidence of experience in a new concep¬ 
tion of God, a new love, a new life, a new hope in men and 



110 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


women saved from their sins,—the ever-living, abiding, 
present, and unimpeachable witnesses to the reign of Christ 
in the heart. “And every man that hath this hope in him 
purifieth himself even as He is pure.” (1 John 3 :l-3.) 

7. And, finally, the evidence afforded by these facts 
anciently to the observation of believers, and in our day, 
especially by the above proof, as seen in the regenerated 
lives of true Christians, and in the Christian home, and in 
the Christian community, and in the Christianized state 
or nation. Jesus speaks in the living present: “The same 
works that I do bear witness of Me.” The evidence of His 
rule must be seen in the living present. “I am with you 
alway, even unto the end of the world”; and again, “A tree 
is known by its fruits.” The reign of the flesh has its com¬ 
mentary before us in its institutions of vice , not one of 
which is manned and supported by Christians. The reign 
of the Spirit through Christ is manifest in its institutions 
and their influence upon the individual life, the family 
life, and in the moral atmosphere they generate. Many 
moral and upright men and women, born of Christian par¬ 
ents, nurtured in Christian homes, and breathing the pure 
atmosphere of the gospel, seemingly ignore these influences 
and claim to be the products of Nature and Reason. Some 
learned men have, in our presence, criticised severely their 
early training, and when asked, “Are you better than your 
parents?” have answered, “No.” How true that “knowl¬ 
edge puffeth up, but love buildeth up.” Remove* from the 
human heart that queenly grace of “love for one another 
as He loved us.” and how soon the very soul of beauty in 
poetry and art, in literature and Nature would fade away! 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


177 


Harmony with Him is the very soul of beauty as well as 
the source of health, peace, and happiness. The skeptic is 
noted for remaining within the sphere of that influence, for 
well he knows that there is no security to life or property 
outside that influence. 



178 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


VIII. 

THAT SO-CALLED MOST INFAMOUS PASSAGE. 

“He that believeth not shall be condemned.” (Mark 
16.) The skeptic regards this as the most infamous pass¬ 
age in the Bible. Why he should so conclude we cannot 
understand. If the Bible came from God, we might expect 
to find in it just such a statement, since it is but the word¬ 
ing of law as seen in Nature. Besides, the skeptic virtually 
adpiits it as seen in the fact referred to. (VII.) If disbe¬ 
lievers in Christ could here and now be left to themselves, 
we venture the statement that no other argument would be 
needed to convince even the skeptic of the truth of the 
passage. They will have a long time in the coming world 
to test its accuracy. It might be well for them to test it 
here and now in some remote colony of genuine skeptics 
where they have no God, no Christ, no Bible, no Church, 
no Gospel, no Sunday-school, no religious literature ,— 
where pure, unadulterated skepticism is the sole law of the 
land! Will some agnostic philosophers test the merits of 
their system and state the actual results for the benefit of 
his fellow-men? Until such test is made, we shall be com¬ 
pelled to doubt their sincerity. And until such test shall 
result in better men and women and better society and gov¬ 
ernment than belief in Christ has produced, we shall be 
logically compelled to accept the passage as true. But we 
should like to state a few “conditions,” and not “theories,” 
in making the test: Fi?stj> select some spot where human 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


179 


reason and natural religion have erected their temples to 
Dagon, Baal, and Diana, and where “sons and daughters 
are offered as burnt sacrifices,” and where vice and inde¬ 
cency reign supreme. Second, where conditions exist like 
those described in the first chapter to the church at Rome, 
or in modern life where greed for gold and imperious pas¬ 
sion hold sway. Third, adopt as your mottoes the follow¬ 
ing : “I don’t say there is no God, but I don’t believe there 
is.” “I think too much of my word to say I know there is 
a God: I never saw Him.” “Death is an eternal sleep.” 
“Death ends all.” “When I die, that’s the last of me: I 
expect to sleep forever.” “We don’t know anything about 
the future; nobody ever came hack to tell us.” “If there 
be a future life, very likely we ’ll all start even.” And, 
finally , for a constitution for your reformation, adopt the 
following: “No member of this society shall ever prefer 
a charge against any brother or sister for gambling, drunk¬ 
enness, immorality, fornication, or adultery.” Launch out 
your ship of state into this turbulent sea of sinful human¬ 
ity and let the Church behold the movement of the waters. 
But if you have no life-boat, don’t sneer at, but rather cheer 
those who have, for poor humanity is dying. 

But we give a contrast between the belief in the “un¬ 
certain riches” and that in the “true riches.” “Do you see 
that hole in the hill?” “Yes, sir,” we replied. “Well, I 
have my horses, my cattle, my sheep, my hogs, my chickens, 
my ducks, my gardens, and twenty years’ wages in that 
hole.” “Yes; and what did you get out?” “Dirt!” “And 
still at it?” “Yes, sir. I am working for another grub¬ 
stake.” “Oh, you inconsistent set! You risk your all on 


180 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


a bare probability, a possibility, and even upon the very 
ghost of a chance: for only one hole in some thirty thou¬ 
sand becomes a mine. But when we present to you the 
mine of salvation where every “laborer” is abundantly paid 
in “earnest” money now, and give you the clearest evidence 
for abundant riches beyond,—you shake your heads and 
say, ‘I don’t know !’ ” 

iVgain: “Oh, you preachers! Your time is coming. 
You won’t get to ride on railroads free. You don’t pay 
your taxes, you thieves and robbers. The jails and peni¬ 
tentiaries are full of you!” This violent and unexpected 
eruption called forth an immediate reply: “Old man, your 
speech and your face plainly declare to what camp you be¬ 
long. Walk up this street and inquire, Who runs these 
gambling dens, these houses of ill-fame, and these haunts 
of iniquity ? They are your brethren, sir, and not a preach¬ 
er nor a Christian among them. And you know it , sir. 
Good-day.” He was nearing seventy-five years of age. 
About seventy-five yards distant, we entered an humble 
home and found another old man, with a book in hand. 
“You are reading the Bible?” He stretched forth his 
hand: “Brother, I would not exchange my hope of heaven 
for all this world. This has been my lamp. I love the old 
Book: but I love my Savior best of all.” What a contrast 
between that rage of despair a few moments since and this 
smile of hope that tells of peace and heaven! We related 
this incident to another whose frame was trembling with 
age, and inquired, “What do you suppose made the differ¬ 
ence ?” Quick as a flash came the answer: “The grace of 
God, sir—the grace of God. sir!” 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


181 


But broad-minded liberalism must be heard. She was 
an ardent admirer of the late champion of agnosticism. 
In her estimation, he was the greatest and best man she 
had ever met. Her creed was as follows: “Oh, I think all 
religions are good in their place. I think just as much 
of one as another. Brahmanism, Buddhism, Judaism, and 
Christianity are all alike to me, and I help all alike. But 
I think more of a good beefsteak than any of them.” Then 
I remembered the word of the Lord concerning such, 
“Whose God is their belly and whose glory is in their 
shame.” (Phs. 3:19.) 

But belief in Christ opposes science. We give “a strictly 
scientific view.” We had sold to a blacksmith, and turned 
to another listener and said, “Can I not sell you a book, 
sir?” “You can sell to such as they: but 1 was taught to 
look at everything from a strictly scientific view. I am 
nothing: you are nothing: they are nothing: all you see is 
nothing. This earth, the sun, moon, stars, and all the heav¬ 
enly bodies could be compressed into a space as small as a 
‘pin-head/ and then the atoms would not touch one an¬ 
other. I view everything from a strictly scientific stand¬ 
point.” Well! we thought we were in Boston instead of 
Louisville. But being near the forge, we made answer: 
“Mister, you are the first nothing I ever heard talk. And 
the strange thing about it is, that nothing has another 
nothing in its mouth; and it is filled with another noth¬ 
ing; and that nothing lighted with another nothing. One 
big nothing at one end of a little nothing, and trying to 
draw some more nothing out of the other end of that lit¬ 
tle nothing. And, as the old adage has it, ‘Out of nothing, 


182 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


nothing comes/ But really, if you believe that ‘strictly 
scientific view/ go out and bump your head against the 
shop and see if there is anything there. I don’t under¬ 
stand your strictly scientific view.” Somebody laughed 
and said, “Gus, you are in the jack-pot now”; and we left 
at the close of our first lesson from “the strictly scientific 
point of view.” 

One from dreamland: “The Bible stories were myths 
and legends.” “Do you think the resurrection of Christ, 
with all its monuments, is a myth ? Do you not expect to 
rise ?” we inquired. “Oh, I don’t think much about it. It 
doesn’t concern me. I don’t care much whether I do or 
not: it makes no difference. The flowers come forth every 
year to beautify the earth, and I sometimes think I may 
be like them.” “A daisy,” we thought, “perchance a bit¬ 
ter root, and maybe one of our favorite flowers, the moun¬ 
tain lily l” 

But modern science, that has investigated every step 
in progress, from the “amoeba up to man,” must be heard. 
By a figure of speech, these scientists are all from Mis¬ 
souri—they have to be shown. They are not at all cred¬ 
ulous : in plain English', they do not swallow without first 
thoroughly chewing. Well, we recently scanned a book on 
evolution, and were not a little surprised to learn from the 
writer that “not one in ten authors upon the subject un¬ 
derstands it.” “Some one,” we thought, “is mistaken.” 

Another author, in explaining the process of develop¬ 
ment through the survival of the fittest, represented the 
land animals as being, formerly, in a state of hostility to 
each other; and a like state of affairs existed in the sea. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


183 


She presented a vivid picture, beheld, no doubt, by a back¬ 
ward sweep of scientific vision, of the land animals chas¬ 
ing one another, the weaker ones being caught and de¬ 
voured to develop, of its enemies, the best fitted to sur¬ 
vive j while the stronger, by muscle developed in the con¬ 
test, were enabled to escape from their pursuers to the 
mountains: and of another class, which, being hotly pur¬ 
sued, escaped to the sea for protection. In the sea a sim¬ 
ilar battle was going on, and some of its denizens were com¬ 
pelled to flee to the shallow waters, and at length forced to 
crawl out upon the land to save their lives. 

Land animals became sea animals, and, through disuse 
and environment, gradually lost their legs and hair and 
took on flippers and scales; while some sea animals lost 
their scales and flippers and took on hair and legs. The 
whale w'as cited by a professor as being a noted example 
of this change, by the natural law of prdgress through 
slight, indefinite differentiations, evidence of which fact is 
seen, we were assured, in the remains of its former legs 
now involuted in the body! The tail, through necessity 
for having a propeller equal to the needs of the new envi¬ 
ronment, took on wonderful dimensions! Now, reader, if 
anyone asks, “Do you believe the fish story ?” tell him, 
“This is the whale that swallowed Jonah.” 

Unbelief in Christ on the part of agnostics, as may be 
seen from the above, is not through lack of evidence in His 
favor, nor of their diminutive credulity, but rather because 
their eyes and ears, environed by the muddy waters of their 
system, are rapidly losing, through disuse, the power of 
spiritual discernment. Jesus analyzed this class of old: 


184 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


“Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds 
were evil.” (John 3:18-21.) But “if any man willeth to 
do His will, he shall know.” (7:17.) Ignore that test, and 
one can never know. “If ye believe not that I am He, ye 
shall die in your sins.” 

We submit that the proof is now before us: Disbelief 
in Christ is now running every institution of iniquity in 
this land: it now curses every man who ignores Him to the 
extent he disbelieves and disobeys Him: it is the corner¬ 
stone of anarchy in human as well as in divine govern¬ 
ment. He condemned every iniquity and extolled and 
practiced every virtue; and Christians must be like Him. 
(Gal. 5:19-24; 1 Tim. 1:5.) This declaration is not arbi¬ 
trary; it is the statement of the consequence growing out 
of the violation of a spiritual law as enduring as the 
throne of God. “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” can 
never be attained through disbelief; and to be without Him 
is to be without hope—condemned. And that is precisely 
where the disbeliever in Christ now stands—himself being 
judge. Read their mottoes above. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


185 


IX. 


THE SOLE ISSUE OF THE GOSPEL. 

“Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to ev¬ 
ery creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be 
saved, but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.’^ 
(Mark 16:15-16; Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-47.) 

Man’s greatest need is to be believed in. Humanly 
speaking, God believes in man. We might argue this from 
the two greatest facts mentioned in the Bible; viz., that 
“God created man in His own image and after His own 
likeness” (Gen. 1); and secondly, that “God took upon 
Himself the form of man,” ‘^became incarnate.” (John 
1:14; Phs. 2:5-11.) “Made in the likeness of men.” 
“Found in fashion as a man.” Christ, knowing the possi¬ 
bility of the soul, though defiled by sin, to regain its 
original purity and its capacity for endless progression, 
preached His gospel to even publicans and sinners. And 
the fact is recorded that they went into the kingdom of 
God before the scribes and Pharisees. Gibbon says: 
“Many of the most eminent saints had been, before their 
baptism, the most abandoned of sinners.” Christ believed 
in man. 

We may further observe that man’s greatest blessings 
come through his belief in God. God has so ordered Nat¬ 
ure and so constituted man that man must believe or per¬ 
ish. The passage cited presents the sole issue of the gos¬ 
pel to the world. The Holy Spirit should convince the. 


186 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


world of sin: “because they believe not on Me.” “If ye 
believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 
8:24.) “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of 
God.” (1 Cor. 1:12.) “He is made unto us wisdom, 
righteousness, sanctification, and ^redemption.” (1 Cor. 
1:30-31.) 

We are glad to know that skeptics perceive the real 
issue. We want them to face it squarely. We have no apol¬ 
ogies whatever to make for this ' so-called most infamous 
passage, but will proceed to state why we believe it to be 
true. 

1. Because such disbeliever in Christ alleges that all 
the ancient prophets who prophesied of Christ and the 
glor}^ to follow His sufferings, were falsifiers. 

2. Because he alleges that the Holy Spirit of proph¬ 
ecy by which they spoke, falsified; and this is alleged, too, 
in the face of the fulfillment of prophecy as recorded in 
sacred and corroborated by profane history. 

3. Because he alleges that the shepherds and the an¬ 
gels who sang at Christ’s birth, the magi from the East, 
and John the Baptist, were all falsifiers. 

4. Because he alleges that the apostles of Jesus Christ 
who testified to His death, His burial, and His resurrec¬ 
tion, according to prophecy; who testified to His life with 
them after His death; and of His ascension from their 
presence; and who died as martyrs to the proclamation of 
these facts, were all falsifiers. 

5. Because He alleges that God himself, in His testi¬ 
mony at Christ’s baptism, at the transfiguration, at His 
*death, and at His resurrection, falsified. 


Of REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


187 


6. Because he alleges that the apostles of Christ who 
preached the gospel with the Holy Spirit sent down from 
heaven, so as to convince the murderers of Jesus of its 
truth and to make believers among all nations, were 
falsifiers. 

7. Because he takes his stand with Judas, Caiaphas, 
Pontius Pilate, and all the mob who cried, “His blood be 
upon us and our children.” Through his neglecting, ig¬ 
noring, sneering at, opposing, and disbelieving His claims, 
he virtually says all these did right. On this ground of 
condemnation he takes his stand. 

8. Because he is even more criminal than these, for 
he takes this stand in the light of the downfall of that 
nation because of their rejection of Christ (Deut. 18:IS¬ 
IS); in the light of nineteen centuries of Christ’s rule over 
men; and in the face of living witnesses who have been 
and are saved from their sins through Christ. Of this lat¬ 
ter fact observers can know to a moral certainty. Ho man, 
no nation, ever fell through belief in Christ. No unbeliev¬ 
er in Christ overcomes the world. 

9. And finally: Because he ignores the only pure 
and holy ideal of life -ever given to man. Por if one dis¬ 
believes the gospel of Christ (1 Cor. 15:1-8), he will not 
love Him; and hence he will not confess Him (Matt. 10: 
32-33); and hence he will not obey Him; and hence can 
not become like Him; and hence he cannot come into His 
presence; for “Christ in you,” says Paul, “is the hope of 
glory.” “He that is not with Me is against Me,” said 
Jesus. “Depart from Me. I never knew you,” must be 
the righteous verdict. To become heirs with Him we must 


188 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


come into His kingdom, under His yoke, and obedient to 
His will. This is not only gospel, but plain, sober sense, 
from which there can be no appeal. It will not avail to 
say, “I did not know.” Nothing but criminal neglect can 
account for not knowing. “If the word spoken by angels 
was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience re¬ 
ceived a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if 
we neglect so great salvationV* (Heb. 2:1-4.) But we 
are asked, “From what does he save man?” (Read Gal. 5: 
19-24.) But “I can’t believe that Jesus was born of a vir¬ 
gin.” The book of Nature teaches that two human beings 
began to be without being born of human parentage. No 
thinker will dispute this. If he denies the creation, and 
assumes man’s descent from the lower animals, without a 
particle of evidence known to man, he faces a mystery just 
as great. 

But there is one argument disbelievers overlook. It is 
builded on premises conceded by their ablest writers; viz., 
that “Jesus is the wisest and purest and noblest and king- 
liest of men.” If so, He is a competent witness as to the 
period covered by His consciousness. But what did He 
say? “Before Abraham was, I am.” “Before the world 
was.” “I am from above: ye are from beneath.” His 
claim is reasonable from the viewpoint of Nature, and the 
Bible, and the premises of skeptics themselves. 


OP REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


189 


X. 

SUPERNATURAL BEGINNINGS IN NATURE AND 
CHRISTIANITY. 

Writers who oppose the doctrine of miracles resort to 
the tactics of the ancient Gauls against Caesar: they tac¬ 
itly assume , vehemently assert, and thus doubtfully assure 
themselves of the strength of their position—viz., that 
“Nature knows no miracle”; or, in other words, “Nature 
is constant in her operations”; and hence “Miracle is 
impossible.” 

But we have already shown that the first pair of human 
beings is the product of creation, and not a re-creation; of 
production, and not a re-production: for the plain reason 
that any animal is older than its oldest. Again: Any plant 
and its seed began to be, since all vegetation subsists upon 
the mineral kingdom. But one or the other must have 
been first: so says Nature. But if either was first, then it 
began to be by creation, and not re-creation; by produc¬ 
tion, and not re-production. Nature teaches that all things 
visible began to be in miracle; or, if you please, in the 
supernatural. 

But at this point all little children and a few grown¬ 
up ones inquire, Who made God? The fact of being can 
not be set aside by inquiring the liow of being. The blade 
of grass grows , but no man knows the how of its growth. 
Again: The conditions of spiritual existence are absolute¬ 
ly unknown to human reason: and hence no man, in the 


190 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


entire absence of data, has any logical grounds of infer¬ 
ence that the law of reproduction holds in the spirit world. 
x\nd for a much stronger reason we have no grounds what¬ 
ever for assuming that the relation of succession exists in 
any supposed divine chain. But if we assume such rela¬ 
tion does exist, we are still driven to the idea of a First 
Cause, the absolute and unconditioned. 

The logical necessity for a First Cause and the state¬ 
ments of Holy Writ agree: “In the beginning God cre¬ 
ated the heavens and the earth.” “No God besides Me.” 
(Isa. 45:5.) “Every house is builded by some man, but 
He that built all things is God.” Creation first, and the 
reign of law afterward. God created to govern. It is not 
reason to suppose that He so created that He could not 
guide, control, and even stop the movements of planets as 
easily as a man regulates his watch. A man’s watch does 
not fly into atoms if he stops its movments for cause; nei¬ 
ther w'ould the great clock of the universe if God for cause 
should stay the sun and the moon in their courses. It is 
not for man to say what shall constitute a sufficient rea¬ 
son for such action on His part; but we may suppose, since 
the spiritual welfare of man is the highest necessity of 
our being, that God would not handicap Himself in the 
matter of proof so as to defeat His purpose in our crea¬ 
tion. Miracle, or the supernatural attestation of authority, 
is a necessity in order to man’s education into the likeness 
of God: and whatever is a necessity of the highest order 
makes possible and probable and certain all subordinate 
conditions. (1 Cor. 1:21.) 

Now r in proof that such evidence has been given, we cite 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


191 


the reader (1) to the discussion of the foundation facts of 
the Jewish religion, pp. 50-70; (2) especially the challenge 
of the prophet of God to those of false gods: “Produce 
your strong witnesses and let them declare what shall come 
to pass, that we may know that ye are gods.” This kind of 
evidence the God of Israel has given. He has not been 
slow to put Himself on record of coming events. (3) Ev¬ 
ery foundation fact of the Christian religion was clearly 
foretold hundreds of years before the events (p. 70). And 
one—viz., the miracle of the Incarnation—was foretold 
by at least three prophets (Micah 5:2; Isa. 7:14; Jer. 
31:22.) 

The generation of the heavens and the earth (Gen. 
2 :4) was accomplished by miracle: and is it a great sur¬ 
prise that the regeneration should begin with the higher 
order of the Incarnation? The first Adam was of the 
earth: the second Adam was the Lord from heaven. (1 Cor. 
15:47.) No man can argue against the Incarnation on 
the ground, that it would involve a miracle (1) since we 
have shown that the first Adam came by miracle; and (2) 
because the necessity for such higher order of proof is ap¬ 
parent, He must become like us to teach us; and (3) be¬ 
cause the Incarnation' is a logical induction from the prem¬ 
ises laid down by skeptics themselves: for they claim that 
“Jesus is the wisest, the purest, the noblest, and kingliest 
of earth.” But if so. He surely told the truth concerning 
Himself. But He claimed to have “come from above,” 
from the Father; and that He was “with the Father be¬ 
fore the world was.” Was He not competent to testify as 
to His consciousness with the Father? It will not help 


192 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


them to deny that Jesus ever made such claims: for then 
such conception of Him on the part of His apostles is as 
great a miracle as the fact. Their conception of one God 
would oppose such a view of Christ; their notion of Him 
as an earthly king naturally would exclude such an idea; 
and the facts in the case show that their conception of Him 
followed and did not precede the proofs of the facts. They 
marveled at every new display of power: and on one occa¬ 
sion said among themselves, “What manner of man is this, 
that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” (Mark 5: 
37-41.) 

Now suppose a man appears at various places along the 
line of a principal railroad and claims to be the greatest 
engine-builder the world ever saw. The officials want some 
proof of his claims, and put him to the test. Having had 
several wrecks, the means of testing his claims are at hand. 
They select an engine that is completely paralyzed: it re¬ 
quires four live engines to get the paralytic into his pres¬ 
ence. But no sooner does it arrive than he says, “Go,” and 
the engine moves off in perfect harmony. Again: They 
have another so crippled that they can never get it into the 
shops for repairs: others less injured always get ahead. 
“Try your powers on that one,” say the officials. The re¬ 
ply is, “Move: do your duty, and donT get crippled again.” 
And the engine at once enters upon a career of usefulness. 
Again: They have another with the headlight gone, the 
lever worthless, the governor lacking, and it requires two 
live engines to keep it on the track. It is utterly helpless. 
Thousands have seen it, and some wonder why it was ever 
piade, “Try your hand op that one.” “This is a fine test 



OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


193 


of one’s powers/’ he replies.” And by a “touch and one 
word of command/’ that helpless specimen becomes one of 
the best engines on the road. 

The officials, strange to say, get angered at such dis¬ 
plays of power: but more particularly because he did this 
work on one of their holidays. This fact indicated very 
plainly that he contemplated starting a new road. But 
they have one other engine “dead,” admitted by all the offi¬ 
cials of the old road to be beyond repair: no longer on the 
road, nor in the repair shops, but removed from sight as 
fit only for scrap-iron. This one will test his ability to 
build engines, not merely to repair them. But at a simple 
word of command this dead engine comes forth in perfect 
order, and does his bidding. The helpers all marvel at 
what is being done. Many machinists and boiler-makers, 
and some master mechanics, and a few officials admit his 
claims: but a majority of the officials, who were not pres¬ 
ent at the demonstrations of his power, advise to kill him 
and to destroy his last engine: because he did not belong 
to their road, and had not taken training at their shopb, 
and besides, was leading all their employes astray. He 
told some of his friends that these would kill him, but that 
he would come forth in a few days just like he brought 
that dead engine to life, and would start a new road that 
would transact business in all the world. Well, they finally 
killed him; but their old road, with all its shops, shortly 
after went down just as their great manager had foretold 
centuries before, even pointing out the cause of its down¬ 
fall—viz., the rejection of this great manager of the new 
road. (Deut. 18 .) But perhaps the best argument in his 
—* 3 — 


194 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


favor is that the contemplated new road, reaching out into 
all the kingdoms of earth, has been established under the 
management of this new leader and his twelve trained offi¬ 
cials; and that, after twenty centuries of excellent service 
in the face of all opposition, is in perfect order, having for 
its motto, “Whosoever will may come.” 

The fact of Christ’s rule over millions of the purest of 
earth cannot be disputed. That rule began by the proc¬ 
lamation of certain foundation facts and such confirmation 
of them as here cited. This every reader of the New Testa¬ 
ment knows. But if those facts did not occur, then the 
miracle of all ages is before us for explanation—viz., the 
rule of a dead man. Any way the doubter may turn, he 
meets miracle: either that of the foundation or that of 
Christ’s rule without a foundation. “If weak thy faith, 
why choose the harder side?” Deny His claims, and He 
is inexplicable. The Mississippi River cannot be accounted 
for on the theory of its being the product of a small shower 
on an April morn: nor can Jesus of Nazareth on the theory 
of His being a mere man. 


195 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


XI. 

LIFE BEYOND THE GRAVE. 

The belief in a life beyond what we term death is uni¬ 
versal. But whether that belief is grounded on an orig¬ 
inal revelation handed down by tradition; or is founded 
on dreams, in which we seem to live apart from the body; 
or on instinct and intuition, a God-written argument in our 
being; or is the result of successive revelations independent 
of Nature,—may be of interest to philosophers: hut we pre¬ 
fer to teach that “the light that lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world” has, on this important theme, 
reached all, though in divers ways and with varying degrees 
of clearness and assurance. The vagueness of that belief, 
on the part of peoples not in possession of the Bible, in 
contrast with the brighter vision of the Christian; and the 
slight influence of that belief upon the character of the 
former in contrast with the marked influence of that belief 
upon the latter,—afford a splendid example of the insuffi¬ 
ciency of reason and the necessity for revelation as a guide. 
The answer to the claims of any religion is the man it 
produces. 

On this important theme science long delayed in mak¬ 
ing answer. At first she seemed to say, “Death ends all”; 
but of recent years her inductions, we are proud to note, 
very strongly corroborate the main fact in the statement of 
the Book. We must be brief and hasten to inquire, “Do 
we cease to live at death?” 


196 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


If the position that life precedes and builds up the out¬ 
ward organization is well taken, then we may logically ili¬ 
fer that we do not cease to live at death. And with this 
agrees the Bible. “The body without the spirit is dead.” 

(Jas. 2:26.) The Bible nowhere hints that the spirit ceases 
to exist. It may die to man, and, so far as we know, to 
this world; but not to God: “for all live unto Kim.” 
(Luke 20:38.) 

Again: Man differs radically from all the lower animals 
in that he is an educable and educating being. He reads 
signs, symbols, and monuments expressive of the thoughts, 
the feelings, the emotions, and the heroic deeds of his an¬ 
cestors. By this power he virtually lives in all the past and 
witnesses the onward march of progress. In this sense 
he may aptly be described as an omnibus in which all his 
“predecessors” ride. But he transmits to succeeding gen¬ 
erations the stock of knowledge he has gained by his own 
hard labor. Possessed of this unique power of receiving 
and imparting knowledge, the sole condition of progress, 
he does not, we confidently affirm, “die as a beast.” If 
this seems to conflict with the wise man’s induction, it is 
because we have taken lessons from One who said, “A great¬ 
er than Solomon is here.” (Matt. 12:42.) On one occa¬ 
sion He spoke as follows: “Fear not them which kill the 
body, but are not able to hill the soul” (Matt. 10:28.) 

We here repeat an argument. The destruction of the 
four outward organs—viz., those of sight, sound, taste, and 
smell—does not destroy a single idea that has come into the 
mind through those organs. The breaking down of those 
wagons does not destroy a single fruit already garnered 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


197 


in the mind. Now if the fifth wagon should break down, 
are we to suppose that all the fruits in the mind will 
be destroyed? From within outward we have, first, the 
thinker; second, the material about which we think being 
brought into the presence of the thinker by means of the 
wagons of the eye, the ear, the nerves of taste, of smell, 
and of feeling; and, lastly, the thought. Break down those 
wagons, and you do not destroy the unharvested grain; 
much less do you destroy the farmer. You do, however, 
cut off his power to harvest any more grain from those 
fields. He is dead to those fields, but not to his garnered 
treasures. But he still thinks. Of course we read, “That 
very day his thoughts perish,” evidently his plans and pur¬ 
poses respecting operations on this earth; or, as the same 
writer puts it, “under the sun.” All such thoughts perish, 
but not the thinker. “And neither has he any more a re¬ 
ward.” . . . “Neither has he any more a portion for¬ 

ever —in anything— that is done—under the sun ” His 
power to make his love, his hatred, his envy felt on this 
earth is gone; and the power of those left behind to make 
their love, their hate, their envy felt on him is gone. Hence 
he has no more a reward or portion in anything being done 
in this life. God said, “Move forward,” and he can no 
more return than the mighty oak can become an acorn. 
Oh, the imperishable memories! We never forget, but may 
not at all times be able to recall. The history of drown¬ 
ing men is in point here. When all the outer senses are 
failing, in a moment all the past flashes before the inner 
man with perfect clearness. The witness of a perfect mem¬ 
ory, for or against, as may be, can never be stilled at death 


198 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATtJltE 


nor at the judgment. The matters of fact will not be in 
dispute before that tribunal. 

Again: The power of the soul to know, independent of 
the outward organs, things unknowable and even contrary 
to the outward senses and the sober inductions of the mind 
in its waking moments, argues an existence for it inde¬ 
pendent of outward senses. Wives have seen their hus¬ 
bands fall in battle; children have beheld their fathers per¬ 
ish in the flames of burning buildings; owners have seen 
their residences swept away by cyclones, and in consequence 
saved themselves loss by promptly taking out a policy; law¬ 
suits have been prevented by a vision at night; friends have 
been present and witnessed at the time of their occurrence 
the most unexpected events; and thousands of similar 
things have all been made known in visions or dreams. 
Now if such information comes through human agencjq 
then man can know independent of the outward senses: 
and man can make known independent of those organs. If 
the information comes through divine agency, then man is 
already in touch with another world. 

Again: All the lower animals reach a state of perfec¬ 
tion mentally and physically in this life. To each of them 
has been allotted a period of time sufficient for com¬ 
plete development— i. e ., to the limit of capacity. Man 
reaches a state of complete development as respects the 
body, but only begins his mental development when he fails 
in death. To him, also, as the highest intelligence of earth, 
we infer, will be allotted a period in which he may perfect 
himself to the limit of his capacity: There must be a fu¬ 
ture for him. But since he is capable of endless progres- 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


199 


sion in knowledge, nothing short of endless being will sat¬ 
isfy the equation of the possibilities of the spirit of man. 

Again: In all the realm of Nature, instinctive long¬ 
ings, in every instance, have been met with a satisfying por¬ 
tion. Instinct is never false to fact—it never deceives. It 
is God’s prophecy that every need of His creatures has been 
provided for. The little squirrel untaught, save of God, 
stores up his winter’s food. The birds, by that same pro¬ 
phetic instinct, seek a new home in a more congenial clime. 
So, too, there has been provision made to meet man’s every 
need, whether of body or intellect, and certainly his spirit¬ 
ual longings as well. The universal and therefore instinct¬ 
ive longings of the soul in the solemn hour of death will 
find its answer in the life beyond the grave. 

But just here we may note that the doctrine of the soul’s 
taking up its abode in a plant, or in some lower animal, 
or even in another human body, is not a very noble con¬ 
ception, and never influenced the believer to nobler deeds 
in this life. The doctrine of the resurrection, if man is to 
be raised with a mortal body, is plainly not a fascinating 
one. The Sadducees, assuming this to be the fact in the 
event of a resurrection, put the absurdity of that doctrine 
in its strongest light by citing the case of the woman with 
seven husbands. (Luke 20:17-38.) In the light of such 
misconceptions of the future life, the question, “With what 
body do they come?” is full of significance. Not the fact 
of the resurrection, but the character of the resurrection 
body, is an important factor in determining its desirable¬ 
ness. On this question Nature teaches that “God gives to 
every seed its own body”: so we may infer that mm will 


200 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


have a resurrection body as unlike all others as his pres¬ 
ent body differs from all life forms about him. The doc¬ 
trine of transmigration finds no support from Nature. 
Nature also teaches that the body sown is not the body to 
be raised: “Thou sowest not that body that shall be 57 : and 
hence the doctrine of the re-incarnation has no foundation 
in Nature. 

But will all come forth alike? No. There will be 
orders. (See chapter 6.) But Christ’s followers will have 
a body and it will not be a carnal one. What then? Rev- 
elation alone can declare. We have already given her voice 
on that important theme (chapter 6). It is glorious and 
powerful, incorruptible and immortal. It will not be a 
fleshly body, but a spiritual body. “No marriage nor mar¬ 
riage relationships will exist in the resurrection state”: 
so teaches Jesus. (Luke 20.) “Flesh and blood cannot 
inherit the kingdom of God,” says Paul. Peter speaks of 
it as being “incorruptible and undefiled and unfading.” 
Again, we read from Paul: “It will be eternal in the heav¬ 
ens.” That “He shall change our vile bodies and fashion 
them like unto His glorious body.” And John tells us, 
“We shall be like Him.” 

But there is another factor in the Christian’s hope of 
immortality —viz., the seal of approval from our Leader 
and the Father. We often hear people say, “I believe in 
doing right because it is right.” “Virtue is its own re¬ 
ward.” “I don’t need an external standard to guide me.” 
“Nature and my conscience are all I want.” As an answer 
to this, we point to the fruits of that standard. (Rom. 1.) 
Behold a widow gazing into the face of a cat ox a dog to 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


201 


see if she can recognize the presence of her former hus¬ 
band ! See women crawling in the dust a distance of hun¬ 
dreds of miles to a wooden god in order to obtain remission 
of sins! Behold that warrior of the natural standard type 
bringing home a number of infants strung on a stick as we 
do fish and for the same purpose! Come to our own land 
and witness the workings of conscience, according to the 
natural standard, in the reign of imperious passion, in the 
reign of acquired appetite, and in the reign of ambition, 
and then seriously inquire, “Is that the best God has given 
to man V* The hour of temptation comes to all. On the 
silent battle-fields of the heart are fought the greatest bat¬ 
tles of earth: and victory there means victory everywhere. 
How much we need the guiding hand, the approving smile 
of our Great Counselor. Life without Him reminds us of 
an old game. Memory takes us back to the scenes of child¬ 
hood, to the old school-house. We see the adversary and 
hear him call out, “What would you do if the black-man 
should come ?” We hear the answer, “Break right through.” 
He selects the little ones first and these become co-workers 
to catch others. One by one, our playmates fall before him. 
Some seemingly want to be caught; others resist but fee¬ 
bly; but a few noble ones hold out with all their powers. 
These fight many battles and are heartily applauded for 
their victories. But time and environment begin to tell 
on them, and, one by one, they go down, till a single cham¬ 
pion must meet the combined forces. We witness that last 
battle with keen interest. Coat-sleeves are torn away; the 
garment stripped from the body; buttons give way, and 
suspenders are rent asunder: but our champion falls—just 
— 14 — 


202 


EOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


before he reaches the coveted base. The black-man has 
caught all. 

In the homes, mothers, already tired from necessary 
toil, listen to our explanations, mend our garments, caution 
against roughness, and even veto the game: but the game 
goes on. Why does it continue ? Rather we should inquire. 
Why can no one conquer? We have heard some whom 
we supposed were invincible say, “The foe within is too 
strong.” We have read the confession of those who thought 
they had reached a plane beyond the power of temptation: 
“We cannot live it.” We have found of those who assume 
the unreality of disease—one sick with the grippe, another 
using an M.D/s prescription given to cure his wife of a 
cold, another wearing glasses—and have heard them con¬ 
fess to the power of mortal belief to overcome; and have 
learned of a few of them dying like other mortals. We have 
heard the pitiful groans of a badly burned child while the 
mother was nursing it —in faith. We have read of a divine 
healer praying at the bedside of a beloved daughter, only 
to be answered with the summons of her death. Overcome 
by temptation, suffering in body, and finally dying! Is 
this all ? 

There is One voice to which we have sought to invite the 
attention of our readers. He knew no failures. That voice 
comes back from beyond the grave. Two of our race 
were translated without tasting death. One of these came 
back from the eternal world, and, with the great law-gi\er 
of old from the spirit world, listened to that voice from the 
excellent glory say, “This is My beloved Son: hear ye 
Him.” He met our last enemy and came forth in victory. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


203 


The power of that resurrection body was manifest for the 
space of forty days, after which He ascended into glory. A 
divine power is put forth in His name. He will not sulfer 
His faithful ones to be tempted beyond their power to re¬ 
sist: for “with the temptation He will make way for 
escape.” 

The visions of the dying Stephen, of Paul on the road to 
Damascus, and of John on the Isle of Patmos, tell us of 
victory. The Christian’s relation to the risen Lord is his 
hope of glory. “Because I live, ye shall live also.” “I have 
the keys of Hades and the grave.” This voice comes back 
from the Savior in glory. In this body we may suffer: in 
this school of experience, suffering in service, while our eyes 
behold the eternal reward, only works out for the soldier 
of the cross an “exceeding and eternal weight of glory”: 
it may be necessary. But we may rest assured this is not 
the final state of man: for love will not always permit its 
object to languish. Kindred souls some time and some - 
where will meet. Indeed, the earnest of peace and joy now 
possessed by the saints is God’s prophecy in us of a bright¬ 
er day. (2 Cor. 4:16; 5:1-8.) The longing of the soul 
for harmony, for peace, and joy will find its answer when 
“we awake in His likeness.” “Thanks be to God, Who giv- 
eth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” While 
the gospel offers this glorious hope to all, we leave those 
who reject its Author just where that Author leaves them: 
“If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” 
“Whither I go, ye can not come.” “Ye would not.” Hope 
will not always see a star. 


204 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


XII. 

IX CONCLUSION. 

The tiller of the soil may rightly claim: “God has not 
left Himself without witness in that He did good and gave 
ns rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts 
with food and gladness.” Paul makes this argument from 
Nature. The physician claims, and all sufferers concede it, 
that God has provided in Nature adequate remedies for all 
our physical ailments; hence we read: “God is not willing 
that any should perish.” But law must be respected . The 
man of science is finding out through faith in a God of law 
and order, that the hitherto unknown and unutilized forces 
in Nature afford adequate power for regenerating the wild, 
rugged, and barren wastes, for causing the wilderness and 
the solitary places to be glad, and the desert to blossom as 
a rose. But law must be obeyed. The teacher of the gos¬ 
pel claims with equal assurance that the same God who pro¬ 
vides for all of man’s lower wants has also made ample pro¬ 
vision for man’s spiritual wants: for the regeneration of his 
spiritual nature. 

We believe and teach that Nature proclaims to suffer¬ 
ing humanity a Great Physician who could, if He so pur¬ 
posed, visit man in person. We believe and teach that such 
purpose on His part is manifest in the provision made in 
Nature to relieve man of pain. “God is not willing that 
any should perish,” is an oracle of Nature as certainly as 
of revelation. That purpose is further manifest in the uni- 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


205 


versal, and therefore instinctive, belief in the existence of 
remedies in Nature; and this is paralleled by the univer¬ 
sal longing for a Great Deliverer from the thralldom of 
sin. We believe and teach that there has been an unbroken 
chain of evidence from the very beginning of the race to 
the present of a divine power ab extra Nature, as well as 
in Nature, touching man upon the plane of the physical, 
the intellectual, and the spiritual. We believe and teach 
that the facts of the preservation of the race; of the laws 
for prevention of disease; of the laws of cure; the fact of 
amputation; and the fact of special cures under the Jew¬ 
ish dispensation, and also under the Christian dispensa¬ 
tion,—are each and all as clearly authenticated as any al¬ 
leged fact of healing recorded in the annals of medicine. 
If this belief be not well-grounded, what physician will 
have the audacity to ask us to believe that he ever aided in 
effecting a cure ? 

Evidently man is not in harmony with moral law—not 
in harmony with God on the spiritual plane. God did not 
make man as we now see him. It must also be evident that 
man, through rejecting the knowledge of God and profess¬ 
ing himself to be wise, has shown himself, in his school of 
experience, to be incompetent to attain to the glory of God. 
(1 Cor. 1:20-21.) Evolution at this point is a failure. 
Kedemption alone can reach us. Motives higher than earth 
and beyond the grave must be brought to bear upon man’s 
life and conduct here, in order to real progress in a higher 
life. He must be made to see that moral law is eternal, 
and that the spirit of man is eternal: and that “the wages 
of sin is death”—spiritually as well as physically. 


206 


FOREGLEAMS IN' NATURE 


Salvation from sin becomes the profoundest problem in 
the universe. How to redeem a soul from sin, how to bring 
it back into harmony with God, has been the problem of 
the ages. It is a problem of motives. Can a man in sin 
be moved to love God? “We love Him because He first 
loved us.” Can a man in sin be moved to believe in God ? 
We believe in Him because He first believed in us. “God 
was manifest in the flesh.” He came into our midst; He 
gave man a model life, and but one has ever been given. 
He manifested His compassion for our suffering, His pity 
in forgiving. He wept tears of love and sympathy for man. 
He went about doing good. He died, breathing a prayer of 
forgiveness for His enemies. He rose to assure us of a life 
beyond the grave. He ascended into heaven and invites 
man to follow Him. How to teach man to look beyond the 
scenes of earth with a well-grounded assurance of peace and 
happiness is solved in the Bible alone. Especially is this 
made clear by the life, by the death, by the resurrection, 
by the ascension, and by the coronation of Jesus; and final- 
ly, by the reign of Christ through love and joy and peace 
in the soul. 

We have already given (VIII.) a few of the foundation 
principles of agnosticism, and will now present a few 
“forms of sound speech” among Christians. The former 
were all negative: these are all affirmative: “Call His 
name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.” 
“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” 
He saves the whole man by saving him from his sins. “I 
am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


207 


of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” “Come 
unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest.” “If a man love Me, he will keep My 
words: and My Father will love him and We will come 
unto him and make Our abode with him.” “Nevertheless 
the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal. The 
Lord knoweth [approveth] them that are His.” “I know 
whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able 
to keep that which I have committed unto Him against 
that day.” “If any man willeth to do His will, He shall 
know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I 
speak of Myself.” (John 7:17.) And to all such Jesus 
says, “If ye continue in My word , then are ye My disciples 
indeed: and ye shall know the truth , and the truth shall 
make you free” — i. e., free from doubt, free from error, 
free from sin. (John 8:31.) This is the Master’s method 
of coming to know the truth. It is not to be found in spec¬ 
ulation, nor by the so-called scientific method, but by the 
divine method of faith. No man that wills “not” to do His 
will can ever come to know the truth: because he ignores 
the divine method and never complies with the divine test. 
Millions adown the ages past and millions of to-day have 
proved Him and found Him true. Who that ever willed 
to do His will, and that continued in His word , dares to 
say it is false? The gospel saves every one who believes it. 
It begets a new faith, a new love, a new life, a new hope, 
a new creature. This is no theory—it is a matter of con¬ 
sciousness, experience, and observation. It is as certain in 
its operations in the believer as the law of gravitation in 
the material realm. 


208 


FOREGLEAMS IN" NATURE 


Faith is the fundamental principle of proof; obedience 
is the rule of demonstration; and experience is the answer. 
By this method, put to the severest tests for sixty centuries, 
we are able to say, God is faithful. His promises never fail, 
whether in the kingdom of Nature (Gen. 8:21-22; Acts 14: 
17), or in the kingdom of Grace (Heb. 10:38; 11:40). 
So that as the chain of prophecy recedes into the past and 
the prophetic links come into view, looking back upon the 
innumerable links of fulfilled prophecy extending through 
sixty centuries, we may say with all the certainty of math¬ 
ematical induction, True up to the limit of life or of time 
itself, true at the limit. We bridge the chasm of death 
itself by His immutable promise, “I am the resurrection 
and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, 
yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth [we shall not all 
sleep, 1 Cor. 15 :51] and believeth in Me, shall never die.” 
The dead in Christ shall live; and the living in Christ at 
His coming shall never die. “Because I live, ye shall live 
also.” (John 11:25-26.) 

That the Great Physician has touched man along the 
lines of the spiritual is evident from the testimony of a 
great cloud of witnesses—patriarchs, prophets, and saints 
in olden times, who, under the most trying circumstances, 
put to the test the power, the wisdom, the truthfulness, and 
the veracity of God concerning the most improbable events, 
and who, with unanimous voice, declare, God is faithful; 
is evident from the testimony of apostles, evangelists, and 
millions of martyrs—a testimony sealed with their life’s 
blood; is evident from the monuments and commemorative 
institutions that have come down through the centuries, as 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


209 


baptism, the Lord’s supper, the Lord’s day; is evident from 
myriads of colleges, universities, orphan homes, and kin¬ 
dred institutions, originated and maintained by believers in 
God and in Christ; is evident from the Church as a living 
monument to the Lordship of Jesus Christ; and, finally, 
is evident from living witnesses to the grace of God through 
Christ, of men and women saved from their sins, even from 
the lowest haunts of vice and crime, and filled with an un¬ 
dying hope, the power of an endless life. This, we repeat, 
is not theory. It is a fact as patent to observation as any 
fact of physical science. It derives its existence from the 
well-grounded faith in the cardinal facts of the gospel; in 
the experience and life of the believer in Christ; in the con¬ 
sciousness of an inner peace and joy; and in an undying 
hope rooted and grounded in the love of God through 
Christ. Whatever critics may say, the gospel of Jesus 
Christ saves to the uttermost every one who believes and 
obeys. 

Its abiding forces of faith and hope and love are ade¬ 
quate to regenerate the world, regardless of race, color, or 
condition of life. It meets the deepest and noblest longings 
of the soul, showing itself to be nothing less than “the 
power of God unto salvation to every one that believes it.” 
Its fruits are “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there 
is no law.” “The end of the commandment is love out of 
a pure heart, and a good conscience and a faith unfeigned.” 
And this “love casts out all fear.” It robs death of its sting 
and the grave of its terror. 

And thus it is seen that, what Nature , and the longings 

- 15 - 


210 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


of the soul , and the types and the shadows of the ancient 
religion, and the Spirit of God in the prophets foretold 
should come to pass, have been fulfilled in Jesus of Naza¬ 
reth : and one may Tcnow by observation and experience that 
it is true. 

“Alas! for him who never sees 
The stars shine through his cypress trees! 

Who, hopeless, lays his dead away, 

Nor looks to see the breaking day 
Across the mournful marbles play! 

Who hath not learned in hours of Faith, 

The truth to Flesh and Sense unknown, 

That Life is ever Lord of Death, 

And Love can never lose its own.” 

— Whittier. 

Standing upon the unshaken facts and the eternal real¬ 
ities and the immutable promises of revealed religion, Mr. 
Campbell puts into the mouth of the Last Man words ex¬ 
pressive of an undying hope and trust. The skeletons of 
nations lay around that lonely man, and the sole spectator 
of heaven was hiding his face in darkness, when he breaks 
forth in these words: 

“Go, Sun, tell the night that hides thy face. 

Thou sawest the last of Adam’s race. 

On earth’s sepulchral clod, 

The darkening universe defy 
To quench his immortality, 

Or shake his trust in God.” 

Till time shall be no more, wherever and whenever poor 
sinners shall feel their load of sin, the name of Jesus will 
live in the hearts of men and women* Empires may rise 


OP REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


211 


and fall, the proudest structures of man may crumble into 
ruins, but Jesus lives and reigns on. (Heb. 1:8-9.) 

“The seas shall waste, the skies in smoke decay, 

Rocks fall to dust and mountains melt away; 

But fixed His word, His saving power remains, 

Thy realm forever lasts, Thine Own Messiah reigns.” 

— Pope. 

When every vision of earthly hope is fading from view, 
and the soul seems to sink into the night of despair, our 
Master then opens to view the heavenly mansions of “an 
inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and that 
fades not away, reserved in heaven for all who are kept by 
the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to 
be revealed in the last time.” 

So long as the millions redeemed and made white in 
the blood of the Lamb can look back to this world and re¬ 
member the time when, and the place where, they first gave 
themselves to His loving service, the name of Jesus will 
live in the hearts of men: for faith will one day lead the 
Christian into the heavenly mansions; Hope will invite 
him to pluck of the Tree of Life; and Love will fill his soul 
with everlasting peace and joy. 

And now, dear reader, since there is a Great Physician, 
Who has provided for all our spiritual wants; Who kindly 
warns us against wrong-doing; Who touches man with 
healing power from on high; Who came in person to point 
our race to a higher and nobler life here; Who opens to the 
vision of every true believer a life of peace and endless joy 
beyond the grave; Who sent the Holy Spirit down from 
heaven to convince the world of sin and the necessity of 


212 


FOREGLEAMS IN NATURE 


becoming righteous because of a judgment to come (Acts 
17:30-31); Who now, as Prince of Peace, rules in the 
hearts of millions of the wisest and purest of earth; and 
Who will one day bring your every secret work and thought 
into judgment,—will you not reverently, lovingly, and con¬ 
fidingly commit your case into His hands? To all such 
there comes in the dark hour a vision: 

“The Pilot of Galilee seen on the strand, 

Stretches o’er the waters a welcoming hand; 

Then, heeding no longer the sea’s muffled roar, 

The mariner turns to his rest evermore.” 

For we read of His saints: “They shall hunger no 
more, neither thirst any more: neither shall the sun light 
on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst 
of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them into liv¬ 
ing fountains of waters.” “And God shall wipe away all 
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, 
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
pain: for the former things are passed away.” 

Ho wonder this writer adds: “Blessed are they that do 
His commandments that they may have a right to the Tree 
of Life and may enter in through the gates into the city.” 
“And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that de- 
fileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh 
a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of 
life.” Who would not be a Christian ? 

“In the cross of Christ I glory, 

Towering o’er the wrecks of time; 

All the light of sacred story 
Gathers round its Head sublime. 


OF REDEMPTION IN CHRIST. 


“When the woes of life o’ertake me, 

Hopes deceive and fears annoy. 

Never shall the cross forsake me; 

Lo! it glows with peace and joy. 

“When the sun of bliss is beaming 
Light and love upon my way, 

From the cross the radiance streaming 
Adds more luster to the day. 

“Bane and blessing, pain and pleasure. 

By the cross are sanctified; 

Peace is there, that knows no measure, 

Joys that through all time abide.” 

“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the 
dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, 
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you 
perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you 
that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus 
Christ: to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” 


A FEW TESTIMONIALS. 


From the highly esteemed Bishop of Montana: 

Helena, December 25, 1900. 

My dear Mr. Pierce: 

I have read yonr book through. It strikes me as a 
closely thought-out and well-reasoned argument, and as 
well calculated to help the believer keep his faith. 
Faithfully yours, 

Rt. Rev. L. R Brewer, P. E. 


From Rev. W. N. Sloan, Ph.D., Pastor First Presby¬ 
terian Church: 

Helena, Mont., June 14, 1901. 

I have read “Foregleams in Nature of Redemption in 
Christ.” It is evangelical and shows careful thought and 
study of Nature and Revelation as the two harmonious 
authorities of the truth of Jesus Christ as the Messiah and 
Savior of mankind. A loolc for the common people. Just 
what the author intended it to be. 


From Pastor M. E. Church: 

Helena, Mont., June 8, 1901. 

I regard it as an original discussion of a living topic 
and will prove very helpful to any who may secure and read 
it. It is a classification of Scripture that will save the stu¬ 
dent months of labor. 

Respectfully, 


Charles L. Bovard, M. E. 




From a Pioneer Minister of Montana: 

Great Falls, Mont., July 4, 1902. 

I can commend “Foregleams in Nature” as an able de¬ 
fense of the Bible and its teaching on the question of heal¬ 
ing. The discussion proceeds upon thoroughly orthodox 
lines and is very ably handled. 

W. W. Van Orsdel, M. E. 


First Baptist Church: 

Helena, Mont., March 29, 1901. 

I have read “Foregleams in Nature,” by B. W. Pierce. 
The volume is readable, fresh and helpful. It will be wel¬ 
come to busy people especially. 

Rev. Jas. F. McNamee. 


From former President 0. C. M. S.: 

Cleveland, 0., October 5, 1900. 

Dear Bro :—“Foregleams in Nature” is a valuable con¬ 
tribution to religious literature. It presents the great 
scheme of redemption from a comparatively new point of 
view. The argument is well sustained throughout, and the 
conclusions clear and forcible. 

Very truly. 


R. Moffett. 


“Concise, logical, and forceful.”— O. F. McHargue. 
Pastor Christian Church , Bozeman , Mont. 


“Both interesting and logical. A strong argument from 
the viewpoint of its author.”— E A. Carleton, Former Sui 
perintendent Public Instruction, Montana, 










AUG 7 1902 





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